Exiled Pakistani Leader Allowed To Return
Pakistan's supreme court issued a landmark decision Thursday allowing former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, living in exile in London, to return home. The decision is a significant political setback for Pakistan's embattled, U.S.-backed military ruler, President Gen. Pervez Musharraf.
Sharif and Musharraf have been sworn political foes since the current leader removed Sharif's civilian government in a bloodless October 1999 coup and established his military rule, reports CBS News' Farhan Bokhari.
Sharif and his family were exiled to Saudi Arabia in 2000 as part of an agreement to live in exile for ten years. They subsequently moved to London. The verdict adds to the woes of Gen. Musharraf, who has faced increasing political turmoil this year.
Sharif and Benazir Bhutto, another banished ex-premier, are vowing to return and lead a growing campaign to restore democracy, increasing the pressure on Musharraf to end eight years of military rule.
Sharif and his family "have an inalienable right to enter and remain in the country as citizens of Pakistan," Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry said.
Their return should not be "hampered or obstructed" by the authorities, the court said.
Sharif was defiant in his first reaction to the ruling, warning during a news conference in London that he was not in the mood for compromise with Musharraf, reports Bokhari.
"I don't believe in any power sharing with Musharraf. He is a dictator, I am a democrat," Sharif said when asked if he was willing to consider a power sharing agreement with the President.
In Islamabad, senior western diplomats warned that the verdict in Sharif's favor could further undermine Musharraf's already-weakened ability to lead his south Asian country in continuing support of the U.S.-led war on terror.
"Fighting militancy and terrorism requires a Pakistani leader to oversee a strong national unity. The truth, unfortunately, is Pakistan seems to be increasingly divided under Musharraf," a western diplomat told CBS News on condition of anonymity.
Ahsan Iqbal, a senior party official, said the verdict was a "major triumph for democracy and rule of law" and that Sharif would return "very soon."
"Gen. Musharraf must realize he is on the losing end," Iqbal said. "The sooner he realizes and resigns, the better it is for him."
Musharraf, who ousted Sharif in 1999 after he tried to replace him as army chief, previously vowed to prevent the exiled former leaders from returning.
But with the United States urging stronger action against Taliban and al Qaeda militants in Pakistan, he has begun talking of the need for political reconciliation and for moderates to unite against extremism.
Musharraf and Bhutto are currently engaged in talks about a possible power-sharing deal that could help him gain a new five-year presidential term this fall.
The presidential vote, due by mid-October, is to be followed by year-end parliamentary elections, where the main opposition parties of Sharif and Bhutto hope to make gains.
Bhutto, who left Pakistan in 1999 to avoid arrest on corruption charges, insists Musharraf must give up his military post to win her party's support.