Musharraf Foe Arrested, Deported

ISLAMABAD – A former Prime Minister of Pakistan, Nawaz Sharif, was deported to Saudi Arabia today, hours after he had landed in Pakistan following seven years in exile hoping to campaign against the country’s American-allied military ruler, officials said.About four hours after he arrived on a flight from London, Mr. Sharif was taken into custody and charged with corruption, but then quickly spirited to another plane and flown out of Pakistan toward Jiddah, a close aide to the president of Pakistan, General Musharraf, said.An intelligence official confirmed the information. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to speak to media. There was no immediate formal announcement from the government.Mr. Sharif’s deportation apparently sidelines a powerful political enemy of the general, but it is likely to deepen General Musharraf’s growing unpopularity and reinforce public perceptions that he is an authoritarian ruler ahead of presidential and legislative elections.The deportation came despite a landmark Supreme Court ruling last month that the two-time former premier, whose elected government was ousted by General Musharraf in a 1999 coup, had the right to return to Pakistan and that authorities should not obstruct him.Mr. Sharif’s brother Shahbaz said their party would submit a petition with the court to challenge the deportation.“This will be counted as the blackest day in Pakistan’s history,” he said on Geo TV. “I do not have words to describe my grief. This is a tragedy for Pakistan that a dictator is disregarding the people.”General Musharraf’s grip on power has faltered after a failed attempt to oust the country’s top judge ignited mass protests, but he is still plans to seek a new five-year term in office by mid-October.His government is also struggling to combat surging Islamic extremism that has spread from the Afghan border where Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden is believed to be hiding.The deportation is likely to stoke confrontation with opposition activists, who battled police this morning on roads leading to Islamabad airport that authorities had blockaded with trucks, tractors and barbed wire.Police fired tear gas and supporters threw rocks in at least two locations near Islamabad and also a bridge on main highway leading to the capital from Pakistan’s northwest frontier. Several people were injured at each clash, Associated Press reporters said.“We wanted to get to the airport to welcome the person who has challenged the dictator,” one of the supporters of Mr. Sharif, Asif Ali, said near Islamabad. “We were tear-gassed and baton-charged.”A former President, Rafiq Tarar, a Mr. Sharif loyalist, said he was roughed up in one confrontation. He declared the government was “anti-Pakistan.” Witnesses said Mr. Tarar was later arrested.At least four other senior opposition leaders were also put under house arrest, officials said.An Interior Ministry spokesman, Brigadier Iqbal Cheema, said they were arrested “to ensure the maintenance of public order,” under a regulation that allows authorities to detain suspects for up to three months without charge.Mr. Sharif was sent into exile in Saudi Arabia seven years ago after he was convicted of terrorism and hijacking charges in Pakistan following the coup.Under a deal with General Musharraf, Mr. Sharif allegedly promised to stay away for 10 years.A Saudi intelligence chief, Prince Muqrin bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, said Saturday in Islamabad that Mr. Sharif should respect the agreement and that Saudi Arabia was ready to take him back.After arriving by a Pakistan International Airlines flight from London, it had initially appeared Mr. Sharif was being arrested but would be allowed to stay in the country.Mr. Sharif was surrounded by black-uniformed commandos inside the plane then shifted to the airport’s VIP lounge, where a senior investigator from Pakistan’s anti-corruption body served an arrest warrant.The investigator, Azhar Mahmood Qazi, said Mr. Sharif was being arrested on money-laundering and corruption charges stemming from a sugar mill business several years ago. Mr. Sharif was accused of laundering $21.2 million, he said.The president of Pakistan’s ruling party, Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, said Mr. Sharif had been given a choice of going into exile again or be arrested. He said Sharif had chosen detention.But it soon emerged soon after Mr. Sharif was being flown out of the country to Saudi Arabia.He had planned to travel in a grand motorcade to his home and political base in Lahore, about 180 miles to the south of Islamabad, to kickstart his campaign against General Musharraf.Mr. Sharif’s return was widely seen as a challenge to General Musharraf’s efforts to reach a possible power-sharing deal with another exiled former premier, Benazir Bhutto, that would allow him to extend his rule.But Ms. Bhutto herself now will likely face growing opposition within her own party to the idea of teaming up with the military leader. Like Mr. Sharif, she wants to contest general elections due by mid-January 2008.Ms. Bhutto says she also plans to return to Pakistan, regardless of the outcome of the talks with General Musharraf. She is due to announce her return date on September 14.

Musharraf Foe Arrested, Deported

Musharraf Foe Arrested, Deported

More from the New York Sun

Sinatra Sang Bacharach—But Only Twice

Terence Fisher’s Monsters Rise Again

Toyota Gets Back on the Wagon

Apple Rushes its First Folding iPhone Launch — But Most Buyers Must Wait To Get One

Ohio Governor’s Race Tilts Toward Democrats After Ramaswamy’s Controversial Attack Ad

Kim Jong Un Pays Surprise Visit to Communist China, Reviving Talk of a Possible Summit With Trump

Cézanne, Modigliani, and Soutine: Parisian Rebels Who Made Art Modern Reunite at Brooklyn Museum

Escalating Protests, Security Concerns Overshadow NFL’s Paris Debut

More from the New York Sun

Sinatra Sang Bacharach—But Only Twice

Terence Fisher’s Monsters Rise Again

Toyota Gets Back on the Wagon

Apple Rushes its First Folding iPhone Launch — But Most Buyers Must Wait To Get One

Ohio Governor’s Race Tilts Toward Democrats After Ramaswamy’s Controversial Attack Ad

Kim Jong Un Pays Surprise Visit to Communist China, Reviving Talk of a Possible Summit With Trump

Cézanne, Modigliani, and Soutine: Parisian Rebels Who Made Art Modern Reunite at Brooklyn Museum

Escalating Protests, Security Concerns Overshadow NFL’s Paris Debut