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Broken Homecoming

Former Pakistani PM's Return Brief and Violent

Two-time Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was forced out of Pakistan on Monday on corruption charges after he apparently defied an exile agreement and returned to help get President Musharraf voted out of office. Violence surrounded the event, and more is likely to follow.

Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's returned to his homeland Monday after seven years in exile only to be arrested at Islamabad's airport on corruption charges and summarily re-deported to Saudi Arabia.

The two-time premier had been living in exile in London after having been deposed by current President Pervez Musharraf in 1999 and agreeing to a period of exile. The exile deal, brokered by Saudi Arabian and Lebanese mediators in 2000, was to last 10 years, though Sharif is reported to have told Reuters that he had understood the term to be 5 years.

Sharif's stated justification for returning to Pakistan was to campaign against Musharraf in the upcoming presidential elections.

"It's democracy versus dictatorship," Sharif is quoted as having told the BBC.

Last month, Pakistan's Supreme Court had declared that Sharif had a right to return.

Tension was high both before and during Sharif's arrival. The airport had been sealed off by security forces before the plane carrying him landed as well as the main road leading to the nearby city of Peshawar. Five people were wounded in an exchange between police and Sharif supporters when they attempted to force their way through police roadblocks. Police also used teargas and batons on a crowd of an estimated 700 Sharif supporters gathered near the airport.

Several thousand Sharif supporters and a number of leaders from Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League were detained by authorities prior to his arrival, according to Reuters.

When Sharif arrived, he refused to disembark his plane for 90 minutes. He then walked through a crowd of supporters and was driven to the airport lounge, where he spoke with reporters until he was taken into custody by officers of Pakistan's National Accountability Bureau.

While in the lounge, Sharif was served with a warrant charging him with money laundering and corruption, according to the Associated Press.

Chaundhry Shujaat Hussain, president of Pakistan's ruling party told AP that Sharif had been given a choice between returning to exile or being arrested, and that Sharif chose the latter. Sharif was then re-deported, according to the wire service.

The events come during a period of heightened political tension. Musharraf has been sharply criticized for his failure to stem Islamic extremism and the president sparked extended, violent protests after he suspended the Supreme Court's chief justice in March. The justice was reinstated in July.

Presidential elections in Pakistan must come at the latest on October 15. However, Musharraf can force earlier elections by dissolving parliament and calling for a snap election.

Another former prime minister, Benazir Bhutto, who is also in exile, is holding in talks with Musharraf about a potential power-sharing arrangement. She is expected to announce a date for her return from exile by Sept. 14.

jtw/reuters/ap