Pakistan's Supreme Court ruled yesterday that exiled former prime minister Nawaz Sharif can return home after seven years in exile.
Sharif, a two-time prime minister overthrown by army chief General Pervez Musharraf in a 1999 coup, has vowed to oppose a bid by President Musharraf for another term in office.
The timing of a return by Sharif could hardly be more awkward for Musharraf, who is expected to seek re-election from the national and provincial assemblies between mid-September and mid-October and hold parliamentary elections within months.
After the 1999 coup, Musharraf co-opted the rump of Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League (PML) to form his own political base, and analysts say that could splinter if Sharif were to return.
Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry told the court in Islamabad that Sharif and his brother, Shahbaz, who is also a politician and was exiled with his brother in 2000, had an "inalienable right" to come back and stay in Pakistan.
The government should not obstruct their return, he said. Both brothers are in London.
The government said in comment carried by the state news agency that the verdict would be respected.
"We will prove to the world that we abide by the law and constitution and believe in tolerance and fairness," an unidentified government spokesman told the news agency.
But such talk is unlikely to completely allay fears that Musharraf might impose a state of emergency, even though he has repeatedly ruled that out and vowed to abide by the constitution.
Musharraf has seen his popularity drop since he tried to dismiss Chief Justice Chaudhry in March.
Sharif and Benazir Bhutto, another former prime minister in exile, are both hoping to come home and take part in the general elections that Musharraf has promised will be free and fair.
Sharif was sentenced to life in prison on various charges after he was overthrown. He and his family later went to Saudi Arabia after the government said he had agreed to 10 years exile.
But Sharif denied any such agreement with the government had been reached and filed a petition in the top court seeking to clear the way for the return of himself and his family.
Source: China Daily/Agencies
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