Exiled leader deported on return to Pakistan
Monday, 10 Sep 2007 20:28
Nawaz Sharif has been deported to Saudi Arabia
Pakistan In Focus
The 2007/08 winter has seen Pakistan plunged into a state of emergency – and political chaos. Full Story
Former Pakistani prime minister Nawaz Sharif has been deported after ending his seven-year exile.
The opposition leader was initially arrested on charges of money laundering and corruption after landing at Islamabad airport before leaving the country on a plane bound for Saudi Arabia.
A government official confirmed an officer from Pakistan's anti-corruption body was present at the airport and presented warrants for his arrest.
"He will be taken into custody after competing legal formalities," the official told the AFP news agency.
The former prime minister changed his flight plans shortly before departure in what was seen as a move to throw off the government. He switched to a direct flight to the capital on board the state airline rather than a foreign airline which would have required him to make a stopover.
A security cordon was in place outside Islamabad airport ahead of his arrival as authorities tightened security across the nation and arrested opposition activists awaiting their leader's return.
Mr Sharif, who was in exile in London, returned to the south Asian country to mount a challenge to the rule of president Pervez Musharraf. He had earlier said that he did not fear being arrested and hoped to lead a mass rally to his party's stronghold in Punjab.
Yesterday, the former prime minister's spokesman, Ahsan Iqbal, claimed that 2,000 party activists had been arrested in the past few days while government officials have said that over 200 have been picked up for allegedly causing trouble.
Foreign envoys from Lebanon and Saudi Arabia arrived in Pakistan's capital on Friday to urge Mr Sharif not to return to his home country in order to maintain stability.
However, Mr Sharif vowed to return to Pakistan, which will hold presidential and general elections later this year, at a press conference in London.
Gen Musharraf, then the chief of army staff, deposed Mr Sharif's government in 1999 after a plane he was travelling on was denied permission to land.
After he took over power in the country, the current president offered Mr Sharif the chance to go into exile in Saudi Arabia which the opposition leader agreed to.