PAKISTAN: Former Pakistani prime minister Nawaz Sharif returns home after seven year exile and is quickly deported

Former Pakistani prime minister Nawaz Sharif returned home after being in exile for seven years and was quickly deported, while dozens of supporters are arrested before they were able to reach the airport to greet him. Former Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif was deported on Monday (September 10) only about four hours after arriving at Islamabad airport, a senior government official said. Sharif's return from seven years in exile, most recently in London, was always going to spark a confrontation with General Musharraf, the army chief who ousted Sharif in 1999 and cast him into exile in Saudi Arabia the following year. "He has been deported ... he has been sent to Jeddah," said a security official who declined to be identified. Sharif was arrested after a melee in an airport lounge where he and his supporters were taken after a tense 90-minute standoff with authorities on board the aircraft he arrived on. The Pakistani Supreme Court said last month Sharif and his brother Shahbaz had the right to return to Pakistan and the government should not try to stop them. Shahbaz Sharif stayed behind in London despite earlier reports that he was too accompany his brother. "It was better for the party that he should not return now," Nawaz Sharif said during an interview before he got off the plane in Islamabad after a 90 minute stand off with the authorities. Sharif said his fate would be clearer once he left the plane. "I cannot say anything now. Things will be clear when I get off the plane," Sharif said. He only left his aircraft after a tense 90-minute standoff with authorities. Surrounded by supporters, he was driven to a terminal building and entered the VIP lounge. Security forces sealed off Islamabad airport to stop Sharif's supporters approaching. Authorities also blocked the main road to the northwestern city of Peshawar. Five people were wounded in an exchange of fire when Sharif's supporters tried to force their way through police lines on a bridge on the road to Peshawar, a witness said. Earlier, police fired teargas and used batons to disperse about 700 Sharif supporters and lawyers about three km (two miles) away from the airport. The protesters, waving party flags and held up portraits of Sharif, threw stones at police and chanted "Go Musharraf go". Scores of supporters scuffled with police in Islamabad. Sharif was dogged by accusations of corruption during his two terms as prime minister in the 1990s. An anti-corruption court last month reopened three cases against him at the request of the government. Before his arrival, authorities had detained about 4,000 Sharif supporters and several leaders of his Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz), including the chairman, as well as three leaders of an allied religious alliance, party officials said. Police said 250 "troublemakers" had been picked up. Sharif, 57, sent into exile in Saudi Arabia in 2000, has returned home despite a Saudi official's plea for him to stay away for the sake of stability. Musharraf exiled Sharif under what the government says was an agreement that he stay in exile for 10 years. In return, he avoided a life sentence on hijacking and corruption charges. The government says he is breaking his word at a time when Pakistan needs stability in the run-up to elections. His return is a major challenge for Musharraf, who has lost support since trying to dismiss the country's top judge in March. Musharraf is preparing to seek another term in a presidential election in the national and provincial assemblies some time between Sept. 15 and Oct. A general election is due around the end of the year. The Supreme Court said last month Sharif had the right to return and the government should not try to stop him. Pakistan says the Saudi royal family and assassinated Lebanese leader Rafik al-Hariri had guaranteed the exile deal. Sharif said on Saturday he understood the deal had been to stay away for five years.

ITN Source | September 10, 2007

Tags:. .judge. .army. .scores. .plane. .seek