Ex-Pakistan Pm Tries to Outwit Musharraf With Multiple Flights

Pakistan's former prime minister Nawaz Sharif has booked himself on five different flights to the country next week to counter government efforts to thwart his return.

The airliner intrigue is one of several ruses by Mr Sharif to keep Pakistan's intelligence agencies guessing. He has vowed to land in Islamabad on Monday, a move that will challenge the leadership of President Pervez Musharraf.

Government officials have threatened to arrest Mr Sharif on his return. He could also be deported, as his brother Shahbaz was when he tried to fly to Lahore in 2004. This time Mr Sharif is unlikely to take the national airline, Pakistan International Airlines, or charter his own plane. Instead, aides say, he will take a scheduled flight.

Mr Sharif's aides say he will be accompanied by 100 people, including 60 journalists, who have been told little other than to be ready to leave Sunday night.

Islamabad has tried to block his return by exerting pressure through Saudi Arabia, which gave him exile in 2000. But a Sharif spokesman shrugged off the tactic. "He'll definitely be there," he said yesterday.

Mr Sharif enjoys support from the supreme court, which recently ruled he has an "inalienable" right of return.

The drama is reminiscent of 1999 when Mr Sharif refused to allow a plane carrying General Musharraf to land in Karachi, triggering the military coup. This time, Gen Musharraf fears Mr Sharif's return could imperil power-sharing talks with former prime minister Benazir Bhutto.

Mr Sharif insisted nothing would stop his return. "The soil of my country is calling me", he told Geo News. "No dictator can now stop our way."

Yesterday lawyers ratcheted up the pressure on Gen Musharraf by hoisting black flags over courthouses across the country and calling for his resignation.