Back to Make Life Difficult

If the former Pakistani prime minister Nawaz Sharif wanted to create a political sensation, he certainly succeeded with his theatrical flight back home and swift expulsion.

His return was brief but, in those four hours, he has burnished his democratic credentials while diminishing his rivals - the president, General Perverz Musharraf, and Benazir Bhutto, another former prime minister seeking to make her own a political comeback.

Ms Bhutto is seeking to cut a deal with Gen Musharraf under which she would be allowed back in time for the general elections, which are scheduled to take place later this year.

Under the arrangement, Gen Musharraf would stay on as president, but would step down as head of the army. As a quid pro quo, all corruption charges against Ms Bhutto would be dropped.

However Mr Sharif threatens to upset the applecart thanks to his uncompromising stance on Gen Musharraf - the man who overthrew him in a bloodless coup in 1999.

He wants the general to leave altogether, and has formed an alliance of opposition parties prior to the elections. If his campaign picks up steam, he could be the next PM instead of Ms Bhutto.

Some analysts say Mr Sharif would be a better bet than Ms Bhutto to contain Pakistan's Islamist threat. MK Bhadrakumar, writing in India Abroad, published in the US, said: "His political pedigree dates back to the Zia-ul Haq era, and he knows best how to squeeze the Jihadi culture out of Pakistan."

It was General Zia who pushed "Islamisation" as the military dictator of Pakistan from 1977 to 1988, when he died in a mysterious plane crash.

Mr Sharif first achieved national recognition when he was brought into the Punjab government during the early days of General Zia's martial law, serving as the finance minister and then the chief minister.

Punjab, Pakistan's most populous province, is Mr Sharif's power base, and he was planning a 180-mile motorcade to its provincial capital, Lahore, from Islamabad airport.

Mr Sharif first became prime minister in 1990, but was dismissed in 1993 when Ms Bhutto - then the opposition leader - formed a government. He returned to office in 1997 with a comfortable majority.

Although he is presenting himself as democrat standing up to a military rule, Mr Sharif is no political angel. During his second term, he took measures that can only be seen as anti-democratic.

In particular, he reversed a constitutional amendment that took away the president's powers to dismiss the prime minister, a move intended to ensure his longevity as PM.

Mr Sharif also had his own battles with Gen Musharraf, who tried unsuccessfully to get the head of the supreme court, Iftekhar Chaudhary, sacked earlier this year.

At one point, Mr Sharif faced possible disqualification from office after charges of contempt of court were brought against him. The charges were eventually dismissed.

There is also the whiff of corruption. Mr Sharif was dogged by accusations of corruption during his two terms, and an anti-corruption court last month reopened three cases against him "at the request" of the government.

Upon his return to Pakistan, Mr Sharif was served with an arrest warrant from Pakistan's anti-corruption body.

The investigator, Azhar Mahmood Qazi, said he was being arrested on money-laundering and corruption charges stemming from a sugar mill business several years ago. However, the authorities eventually decided to deport him to Saudi Arabia on the basis that they were better off with Mr Sharif outside Pakistan.

It is hard to say whether Mr Sharif is guilty of the charges but, as the EU said in a statement, he should have been given the chance to defend himself in a Pakistani court.

In any case, the supreme court last month ruled that Mr Sharif had the right to return to Pakistan and that authorities should not obstruct him. By deporting him, Gen Musharaff looks as though he is flouting the law.

Mr Sharif was deposed by Gen Musharraf in 1999 because of the military's unhappiness with his decision to withdraw Pakistani-backed forces from the Indian side of the line of control in Kashmir.

The army felt humiliated and got rid of Mr Sharif. Eight years later, he has come back to make life difficult for Gen Musharraf.