PAKISTAN: Preparations to welcome Pakistan's former prime minister Nawaz Sharif who was sent into exile in Saudi Arabia seven years ago are underway in his hometown of Lahore

Preparations to welcome Pakistan's former prime minister Nawaz Sharif who was sent into exile in Saudi Arabia seven years ago are underway in his hometown of Lahore. Sharif said he would return home from exile despite calls for him to stay away for the sake of stability in Pakistan. Pakistan's former prime minister Nawaz Sharif said on Saturday (September 8) he would return home from exile despite a call from a Saudi official for him to stay away for the sake of Pakistani stability. Sharif, the premier whom army chief and president Pervez Musharraf ousted in 1999 and sent into exile in Saudi Arabia the following year, is due to arrive home from London on Monday (September 10). He has vowed to launch a campaign to end Musharraf's rule. Sharif's vast estate at Raiwind in the suburbs of Lahore is buzzing with activity. Scores of painters, carpenters and gardeners are working day and night to spruce up the sprawling farmhouse. "In anticipation of Sir's arrival, a huge labour force is working in the farmhouse on the wood work, marble and other things. A lot of work is going on in Sir's farm house," said Kashif Javaid, as he took a break from painting the high boundary wall of the lavish residence. In the capital Islamabad, the response to news of his return was positive. Musharraf sent Sharif to Saudi Arabia in 2000 as part of what the government says was an agreement that Sharif would stay in exile for 10 years. In return, he avoided a life sentence on hijacking and corruption charges. Roadside barber Mohammad Ishaq said he believed Sharif had suffered enough for the agreement that he made with Musharraf to make good his escape from a long imprisonment - an arrangement many had condemned at the time. "This was not an agreement. At that time they (Sharifs) were involved in a life and death struggle. There was a clash going on between the two parties. So if out of fear for their lives, they gave something in writing at that time, they have suffered for it for 7 or 8 years. Now they should come back," Ishaq said. "It is a matter of happiness for the entire nation that Nawaz Sharif should come back and democracy should be restored in the country. Everyone should be allowed to vote freely, and when the nation gives its decision, that should be accepted by all," said Ghulam Ullah, a student of Islamic Studies at a local college. The government has not said what it will do if and when Sharif and his brother land in Islamabad. They could be arrested -- both Sharif brothers face various charges -- or they could be put on an aircraft back out of the country, as Shahbaz was when he tried to come home in 2004. Meanwhile, printing presses in Sharif's hometown Lahore are working overtime churning out welcome posters for the city's most famous son.

ITN Source | September 9, 2007

Tags:. .wood. .prime. .gardeners. .army. .suffered