Nawaz was told being taken to Karachi: Wife

Islamabad, Sept 11: Former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who was yesterday deported from the country amid high drama a few hours after his return from seven years in exile, claimed he was told the plane he was made to board would take him to Karachi.

''Security personnel made me sit in the plane by saying that I am being taken to Karachi, but I was moved to Jeddah instead,'' his wife Kulsoom Nawaz cited him as telling her after his arrival in the Saudi port city, Geo TV reported.

The channel quoted Kulsoom Nawaz, who is still in London, as saying that when her husband arrived in Pakistan, the security officials showed him the arrest warrant and informed him that he would be flown to Karachi and produced in a court there.

While on board plane during the flight, on his query, he was told that he is being taken to Jeddah, not Karachi, she added.

However, a official spokesman said Mr Sharif was offered to be sent to Saudi Arabia on his arrival at the Islamabad International Airport.

''Before being taken into detention, Nawaz Sharif was offered an opportunity to return to Saudi Arabia, in line with the terms of his agreement with the Saudi Arabian government,'' the spokesman said, the channel reported.

''A special flight then flew out of Islamabad, taking Nawaz Sharif to Saudi Arabia,'' he added.

The spokesman said on his arrival in Pakistan from London, Sharif was brought to the lounge to be processed through the arrival formalities. The former Prime Minister was also served with a warrant based on a case under the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).

UNI