PAKISTAN / FILE: Pakistan's Supreme Court rules that exiled former prime minister Nawaz Sharif could return home after seven years in exile

Pakistan's Supreme Court ruled on Thursday (August 23) that former prime minister Nawaz Sharif can return home after seven years in exile, the chief of the Supreme Court said. Sharif, who was overthrown by army chief General Pervez Musharraf in a 1999 coup, has vowed to oppose President Musharraf's bid for another term in office. Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry told the court both Sharif and his brother, Shahbaz Sharif, who is also a politician and joined him when he went into exile in 2000, had "an inalienable right to come back and stay in the country." The court called on the government not to obstruct their return in any way, Chaudhry said. Both Sharif brothers are in London. Hundreds of jubilant Sharif supporters chanted "go Musharraf, go!" outside the court after the ruling. The government said in comment carried by the state news agency that the verdict would be respected. A senior member of Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League (PML) party said Nawaz Sharif would meet party colleagues in London and then decide when he would return to Pakistan, where he still faces corruption charges. Sharif and Benazir Bhutto, another former prime minister in exile, are both hoping to come home and take part in elections that Musharraf has promised will be free and fair. Sharif was sentenced to life in prison on various charges after he was overthrown. He and his family later went to Saudi Arabia after the government said he agreed to 10 years of exile. But Sharif denied any such agreement with the government had been reached and filed a petition in the top court seeking to clear the way for the return of himself and his family. The timing of a return by Sharif could hardly be more awkward for Musharraf, who is expected to seek re-election from the national and provincial assemblies between mid-September and mid-October and hold parliamentary elections within months. After the 1999 coup, Musharraf co-opted the rump of Sharif's PML to form his own political base, and analysts say that could now fracture if Sharif were to return. Musharraf has seen his popularity slump since he tried to dismiss Chief Justice Chaudhry in March. The United States and other Western allies are likely to watch developments closely in a nuclear-armed country seen as vital to efforts to end terrorism and bring peace to Afghanistan.

ITN Source | August 23, 2007

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