Nawaz Sharif returns to Pakistan
Nawaz Sharif returns to Pakistan after eight-year exile
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Sunday, 25, Nov 2007 08:37
Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif has ended his eight-year exile for good after arriving in Lahore, Pakistan.
Mr Sharif, who was ousted in a bloodless coup by current president General Pervez Musharraf, was deported to Saudi Arabia within hours of his last attempt to return to Pakistan in September.
But he was cleared to land at Lahore airport today after reaching an agreement with Gen Musharraf's administration.
More than 2,000 supporters greeted him as he passed through the airport terminal ahead of a visit to a shrine and his ancestral home in the city's centre.
Security has been heightened across Lahore in a bid to prevent the bloodshed seen when another former prime minister, Benazir Bhutto, returned to Pakistan earlier this year.
More than 130 people were killed in suicide bombings blamed on al-Qaida militants as Ms Bhutto's procession passed through Karachi.
Mr Sharif, who arrived in Lahore alongside his brother Shahbaz, has been gifted an armour-plated Mercedes by Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah, who also presented him with the plane he used to travel to Pakistan.
The Pakistan Muslim League (N) leader has arrived back in his country of birth amid a political crisis.
Gen Musharraf, confirmed as president by the country's supreme court last week, suspended Pakistan's constitution and declared emergency rule at the beginning of November.
He has until December 1st to give up his uniform however, with parliamentary elections scheduled to be held on January 8th.
Mr Sharif is expected to follow Ms Bhutto's example and register to stand in the elections, although talks between the two opposition figureheads are anticipated to decide whether they should boycott the polls.