Former PM Sharif deported immediately after return to Pakistan

The former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was deported from Pakistan today, hours after he had landed in Islamabad after seven years in exile.

About four hours after he arrived on a flight from London, Sharif was taken into custody and charged with corruption, but then quickly spirited to another plane and flown out of Pakistan toward Jeddah in Saudi Arabia, an intelligence official said.

An official in President Gen. Pervez Musharraf's office confirmed Sharif was deported. An intelligence official said the former premier was being flown to Saudi Arabia. Pakistan's Dawn News TV and ARY TV networks reported that Sharif's destination was Jeddah.

Sharif's deportation came despite a landmark Supreme Court ruling last month that the two-time former premier, whose elected government was ousted by Musharraf in a 1999 coup, had the right to return to Pakistan and that authorities should not obstruct him.

While the move apparently sidelines a powerful political enemy of the general, it is likely to deepen Musharraf's growing unpopularity and reinforce public perceptions that he is an authoritarian ruler ahead of presidential and legislative elections.

Musharraf's grip on power has faltered after a failed attempt to oust the country's top judge ignited mass protests, but he is still plans to seek a new five-year term in office by mid-October.

His government is also struggling to combat surging Islamic extremism that has spread from the Afghan border where al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden is believed to be hiding.

Sharif's party condemned his deportation.

"It is a violation of the constitution, and it is a violation of the court order under which Nawaz Sharif was allowed to arrive and stay in Pakistan," Sadique ul-Farooq, a close aide to Sharif told The Associated Press.

He said Sharif has been deported to Jeddah.

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