Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif is planning to return home despite being bundled out of the country hours after trying to come back last month, a leader of his party said on Tuesday. Another former prime minister, Benazir Bhutto, is due to return home on Thursday to lead her party in a general election due by mid-January.
The government says he agreed to stay in exile for 10 years when he avoided a prison sentence and went into exile. "He aims to return," said Raja Zafar-ul-Haq, chairman of Sharif's faction of the Pakistan Muslim League. "A party meeting will held in London soon to decide the date of Nawaz Sharif's return." Nawaz Sharif would add to the air of uncertainty and tension if he tried to come back again soon.
Government deported him on September 10 hours after he returned home from London, despite a Supreme Court ruling that he had the right to come back. Government said he had agreed to leave again rather than face prosecution on various charges.
But PML-N denied that and said his deportation was illegal. The court, which has been seen as hostile to Musharraf since he tried to sack its top judge in March, is considering a case against the government over the deportation. Government officials are due to explain to the court on Wednesday why Sharif was sent out on a flight to Saudi Arabia.
Another leader of Sharif's party, Javed Hashmi, told reporters on Monday Sharif would return in November but Zafarul Haq said that had not been confirmed. Sharif is in Saudi Arabia but was due to travel to London soon to plan his return, Zafarul Haq said.