Nawaz Sharif's party turns to Supreme Court

Islamabad: Supporters of former Pakistani prime minister Nawaz Sharif were due to petition the Supreme Court on Tuesday, seeking action against the government for deporting their leader to Saudi Arabia.

Authorities deported Sharif on Monday hours after he returned home after seven years in exile, vowing to challenge President Pervez Musharraf as he prepares to seek another term in office.

While Musharraf has succeeded in fending off an immediate challenge by deporting his rival, the move looks bound to trigger a showdown with the Supreme Court which last month ruled that Sharif had an "inalienable right" to come home.

Supporters of Sharif, who also clashed with the Supreme Court during his rule -- in 1997 his supporters stormed and ransacked the court -- are now looking to it for redress.

"The government has committed a contempt of court and abducted the twice-elected prime minister of Pakistan and we are going to challenge this action in the court," said Khawaja Mohammad Asif, a senior official in Sharif's party.

Government officials said Sharif, who flew in from London, had been given a choice of prosecution or leaving, and he opted to leave. His party denies that.

Newspapers, which have enjoyed more freedom under Musharraf than they did under Sharif, condemned the government for ignoring the Supreme Court ruling saying Sharif could come back, and for deporting him.

The English-language News said it was "an act of pure and utter desperation by a government that seems to be now operating very much in panic mode".

"The country faces turbulent times in the next few days and weeks," it said.

A pro-Sharif opposition bloc, the All Parties Democratic Alliance, has called for protests and lawyers, who have been at the forefront of a campaign against Musharraf's rule since March, boycotted the courts to protest Sharif's deportation.