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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Exiled Pakistani PM can go home | Exiled Pakistani PM can go home |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| Pakistan's Supreme Court has ruled that exiled former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif can return to the country. | Pakistan's Supreme Court has ruled that exiled former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif can return to the country. |
| Mr Sharif left Pakistan after he was ousted by President Pervez Musharraf in a 1999 military coup. | Mr Sharif left Pakistan after he was ousted by President Pervez Musharraf in a 1999 military coup. |
| His campaign to return and contest elections has been seen by analysts as a challenge to the president, who is facing growing political pressures. | His campaign to return and contest elections has been seen by analysts as a challenge to the president, who is facing growing political pressures. |
| But correspondents say the former prime minister could still face charges if he decides to return home. | |
| Mr Sharif's supporters outside the court cheered the ruling and called on Gen Musharraf to stand down. | |
| 'Inalienable right' | |
| Mr Sharif was sentenced to life in prison for hijacking, tax evasion and treason and was kicked out of Pakistan after the coup. | |
| The authorities say Mr Sharif promised to stay out of Pakistan and away from politics for 10 years in exchange for his freedom and exile in Saudi Arabia. | |
| But Mr Sharif denied doing a deal with the Pakistan government. | |
| And Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry said in his judgement: "The Sharifs can return to Pakistan unhindered. | |
| "They have an inalienable right to return and remain in the country as citizens of Pakistan." |