Sharif arrives in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (CNN) -- The plane carrying former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif landed at the Islamabad airport Monday morning, marking a return to the country from which he was driven into exile for seven years.

It was not clear if the government would allow Sharif, who was ordered into exile following the 1999 coup that deposed him, to remain in the country.

Commandos entered the Pakistan International Airlines jetliner after it landed at Islamabad airport and surrounded Sharif, according to an Associated Press reporter on board the plane.

Sharif was refusing to hand over his passport to immigration officials who were also on the plane, the AP reported.

Sharif's flight departed London's Heathrow Airport on Sunday night, as crowds of Pakistanis turned out to see him depart for an uncertain future in a country in turmoil.

Workers and leaders of Sharif's party, the Muslim League, along with journalists accompanied him on the flight.

In Pakistan, ahead of his arrival, the government arrested more than 2,800 of Sharif's supporters, including members of parliament, police sources said. Most of those arrested were in Punjab province, a stronghold of support for Sharif, police sources said. Also arrested early Monday were Pakistan Muslim League Chairman Zafar ul Haq and Acting President Jawaid Hashmi.

A government official said the arrests occurred because the government has banned public rallies.

Security around Islamabad's airport was tightened, police sources said.

A number of journalists said police had beaten them.

After his arrival in Islamabad, Sharif plans to travel in a motorcade to his home and political base in Lahore, about 180 miles (290 kilometers) to the south, according to The Associated Press. The trip through Punjab province could take three days as he greets supporters along the way, AP cited Sharif's party as saying.

Some government sources said Sharif may be deported to Saudi Arabia upon his arrival in Islamabad. But that possibility did not faze his brother, Shahbaz Sharif, who is president of the Muslim League.

"If he is arrested, then we will take a legal course," he said in an interview with CNNI from London.

"If he (Gen. Pervez Musharraf) does anything unlawful or illegal against him ... there will be the whole entire Pakistan against him, and I think Musharraf's days will be numbered," Shahbaz Sharif said. "He's already mortally wounded."

Shahbaz Sharif, who was chief minister, or top executive, of Punjab province, is charged with ordering police to kill five men in Lahore in 1998. At the time of the killings, his brother was Pakistan's prime minister.

It was Nawaz Sharif whom Musharraf deposed in a 1999 bloodless coup. Convicted of tax evasion and treason, Sharif was released in 2000 in exchange for agreeing to 10 years of exile. He has been in exile in Saudi Arabia since then and under the agreement was not allowed to travel or directly take part in Pakistani politics.

But that agreement changed last week, when Pakistan's Supreme Court lifted the exile order and Sharif, who retains his Pakistani citizenship, announced his plans to return.

Sharif has hinted that he may try to regain his position as prime minister, and he has blasted fellow opposition leader Benazir Bhutto for negotiating with Musharraf on a possible power-sharing deal.

Shahbaz Sharif said Musharraf had blocked the roads to Islamabad's airport to prevent people from welcoming his brother back.

If his brother is allowed to remain in Pakistan, he will work to restore the rule of law, the supremacy of parliament and the constitution, Shahbaz Sharif said.

"We must fight extremism, and Pakistan must come back on the road of genuine democracy, and there is no room for military dictatorship or military-led democracy," he added.

Musharraf's popularity has plummeted in recent months. He indicated last Wednesday that he might try to block Sharif's return, according to a report from Pakistan's official news agency.

But in an interview last month with CNN, Nawaz Sharif said he was not concerned that he would be jailed upon returning to Pakistan because "I am absolutely clean and clear."

"There are no charges of corruption against me," he said. "If Musharraf tries to fabricate false cases against me, we will face them."

Sharif said Pakistan's National Accountability Bureau "has acquired an expertise of fabricating cases against politicians" and "has lost its credibility."

"These things don't scare us anymore," he said. E-mail to a friend

CNN's Syed Mohsin Naqvi contributed to this report.

Copyright 2007 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.

All About Pakistan • Pervez Musharraf • Nawaz Sharif • Benazir Bhutto