Pakistan rounds up former PM's supporters ahead of challenge to Musharraf
By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Police manned roadblocks and rounded up supporters of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Sunday as he prepared to end seven years in exile and return to Pakistan to lead a campaign to topple the country's US-allied military ruler.
The government of President Gen. Pervez Musharraf, who ousted Sharif's elected government in a 1999 coup, has hinted it may arrest or deport him when he arrives on Monday, a move that would likely sharpen political tensions ahead of presidential and legislative elections and could trigger street violence.
"I know that this is a risky course for me and there can be dangers in it," Sharif told Pakistan's Geo TV channel in an interview broadcast Sunday. "But I am doing this for Pakistan. Nothing else can be more pleasing for me then freeing (Pakistan) from the clutches of military dictatorship. I will be happy that for a small price - my going to jail - Pakistan will get freedom."