Nawaz Sharif deported after drama at Islamabad airport

Islamabad, Sep 10 (UNI) Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who sought to return Pakistan today after a seven-year-long exile to take on President Pervez Musharraf, was arrested and subsequently deported after an almost two hours of high drama at the Islamabad Airport.

A Pakistan International Airlines aircraft has taken off from Islamabad airport with Mr Sharif on board.

Official sources said that the former Prime Minister was being deported.

However, it was not immediately clear to which country the former Premier was being deported though TV channels said he might be sent to Saudi Arabia.

Mr Sharif arrived here from London on PIA flight PK 786, which landed here at 0835 hrs PST but he reportedly refused to come out of the aircraft. It was only one and a half hours after the plane landed that Mr Sharif came out of the craft and was taken to the lounge.

Paramilitary rangers and army troops cordoned the entire airport last night and all roads connecting twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad were blocked to prevent workers of Mr Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League from reaching the airport.

Local and international media was pushed out of the airport building early morning and security further tightened in what officials called ''an attempt to avoid any untoward incident.'' In a surprise move, Mr Sharif had yesterday opted for Pakistan International Airlines flight at the last minute and stopped his brother Mr Shahbaz Sharif to accompany him to Pakistan where the authorities have reportedly re-opened pending cases of corruption against him.

Ousted from power in a bloodless coup by military chief Pervez Musharraf in October 1999, the former Prime Minister had gone into exile in December 2000 and settled in Saudi Arabia under a deal brokered by the Saudi government and Mr Saad Hariri, son of slain Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri, for ten years.

Mr Hariri, who visited Pakistan over weekend along with Saudi intelligence chief Muqrin bin Abdul Aziz, urged Mr Sharif to honour his commitment and stay out of Pakistan.

But Mr Sharif, who was allowed to return and remain in the country as a Pakistani citizen, by the Supreme Court, challenged the statement saying he had honoured the commitment as the duration of exile was five years and not ten years.

While media was not allowed to cover his arrival, video footage by private television channels taken from nearby houses showed the aircraft landing and three other planes parked at the bay strengthening fears that he may be deported.

While the former premier struggled to come out of the plane, a number of top politicians, including Qazi Hussain Ahmad, Maulana Fazalur Rehman and Liaqat Baloch, PML's stalwarts, Raja Zafarul Haq and several others were arrested.

Talking to reporters in London before boarding the plane, an upbeat Mr Sharif had said, ''We are going, nothing can stop us.'' ''I decided to travel in a PIA flight due to the changed scenario because it was feared that if I had booked the flight of any foreign airline that would have been cancelled or diverted to other destination,'' he told Geo TV on board the flight.

''The situation of Pakistan is crystal clear before everybody and the Pakistani nation wants to get rid of dictatorship, '' he claimed, adding the ''feeling about my return to homeland is beyond explanation.'' The channel quoted Mr Shahbaz Sharif as saying that his brother (Mr Nawaz Sharif) asked him to stay in London despite ''ardently wanting his company with a view to tackle the situation if he is arrested or deported after arrival in Pakistan.'' ''Nawaz Sharif forcibly asked to delay my return programme despite my keen desire to accompany him,'' he said, adding he obeyed ''as I am under obligation to do that because he is my elder brother and leader.'' UNI