Former Pakistani prime minister Nawaz Sharif was arrested and deported to Saudi Arabia today within hours of arriving home from exile, vowing to end the rule of President Pervez Musharraf.
Mr Sharif's return from seven years in exile, most recently in London, was always going to spark a confrontation with General Musharraf, the army chief who ousted Mr Sharif in 1999 and cast him into exile in Saudi Arabia the following year under what the government says was an agreement that he stay in exile for 10 years. In return, he avoided a life sentence on hijacking and corruption charges.
"He has been deported ... he has been sent to Jeddah," said a security official who declined to be identified.
Mr Sharif was arrested after a melee in an airport lounge where he and his supporters were taken after a tense 90-minute standoff with authorities on board the aircraft he arrived on.
Pakistani police detain supporters of Nawaz Sharif, the former prime minister of Pakistan, in Islamabad
Earlier, security forces sealed off Islamabad airport to stop Mr Sharif's supporters approaching. Authorities also blocked the main road to the northwestern city of Peshawar.
Five people were wounded in an exchange of fire when Mr Sharif's supporters tried to force their way through police lines on a bridge on the road to Peshawar.
Police fired teargas and used batons to disperse about 700 Sharif supporters and lawyers in another protest nearthe airport.
Scores of supporters also scuffled with police in Islamabad.
Mr Sharif was dogged by accusations of corruption during his two terms as prime minister in the 1990s. An anti-corruption court last month reopened three cases against him at the request of the government.
The Supreme Court said last month Mr Sharif had the right to return and the government should not try to stop him.
Before his arrival, authorities had detained about 4,000 Sharif supporters and several leaders of his Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz), including the chairman, as well as three leaders of an allied religious alliance, party officials said. Police said 250 "troublemakers" had been picked up.
The government said by returning he was breaking his word at a time when Pakistan needed stability in the run-up to elections. His return posed a major challenge for Musharraf, who has lost support since trying to dismiss the country's top judge in March.
A general election is due around the end of the year.