ISLAMABAD, April 3: ARD President Makhdoom Javed Hashmi on Saturday denied charges of sedition and mutiny and said the October 12, 1999, coup had lowered the army's prestige among the people.

Mr Hashmi made these observations in a 100-page statement submitted before a court trying him inside the Adiala Jail, the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz group) said on Saturday.

Copies of the 100-page statement in Urdu were released by the PML-N. Mr Hashmi is the acting president of the PML-N.

The PML-N leader said the reason for what he called the lowering of the army's prestige was not what he had said at a news conference at the parliament cafeteria last October for which he was booked but a few generals' what he called lust for power.

After the statement, judge Asad Raza adjourned the hearing of the case till April 9.

Mr Hashmi was arrested on Oct 29 under the Pakistan Penal Code sections 124-A (defaming the government and army), 131 (incitement to mutiny), 505(a) (defaming army), 500 (defaming army officers) 468, 469 and 471 (document forgery) after he read out at the Oct 20 news conference an unsigned letter on a purported GHQ letterhead allegedly sent to some parliamentarians by unknown armymen.

Rejecting the prosecution allegations, Mr Hashmi said he could not think of causing mutiny or sedition or forging the GHQ monogram as he regarded the army as a very revered institution although its role in politics was unacceptable to him. He said the purpose of framing sedition and mutiny charges against him was only to silence his voice and intimidate other parliamentarians.

He warned that if the existing gulf between armed forces and the people was allowed to widen because of what he called ill-conceived policies of the present rulers, it would prove to be detrimental not only to Pakistan but also to the entire Islamic world.

Mr Hashmi said he considered the Oct 12, 1999, army coup unconstitutional, believed the referendum of Gen Musharraf was a farce, and would continue to struggle against the LFO.