INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Pakistan ex-PM Sharif heads home to face jail before pollsLAHORE, Pakistan: Pakistan authorities locked
down parts of Lahore Friday for the return from London of former premier Nawaz Sharif, who faces possible arrest and a 10-year prison
sentence ahead of already tense elections his party insists are being rigged.Sharif was sentenced in absentia last week to 10 years in
prison by a corruption court over the purchase of high-end properties in London, dealing a serious blow to his Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz
"I want to tell Pakistanis I have been doing this for you Walk with me, join hands with me and change the destination of the country."AFP
could not immediately confirm the production date of the video, which showed Sharif seated on a plane.On Thursday his brother Shahbaz
what he said was "naked" pre-poll rigging against their party.The younger Sharif has pledged to marshal a welcome for the former prime
minister, saying thousands of supporters would travel to Lahore airport to back Nawaz."The whole world knows that PML-N is being targeted,"
deployed in Lahore, according to police chief Sajjad Hasan Man
Containers could be seen blocking some Lahore roads on Friday morning, while travel to and from the airport had reportedly been
restricted.Authorities have pinpointed at least 50 locations in the city to block if needed, according to a police official, who requested
anonymity as he was not authorised to speak to the media.Despite the crackdown, PML-N backers continued to flock to the city, vowing to
confront authorities if challenged."We are going to airport and if anybody stops us then we are ready to go to jail," Khurram Ehsan, 36,
Since Nawaz returned to London last month, the PML-N has fallen into disarray and failed to mount an organised campaign to rally the base
PML-N against its main rival, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, which is led by cricket star-turned-politician Imran Khan.Recent polling has
The election would be only the second-ever democratic transfer of power in the South Asian country.Nawaz was the 15th prime minister in
fought off -- similar challenges in the past.In 1993 he was sacked from his first term as premier for corruption, while in 1999 he was
sentenced to life in prison after his second term in office ended with a military coup.Following the coup he was allowed to go into exile in
Saudi Arabia, returning in 2007 before becoming prime minister for a third time in 2013.The military remains the most powerful institution
in the country, and has faced blistering allegations in recent months that it is pressuring the media and politicians in a bid to manipulate
the polls against the PML-N.The armed forces have denied the accusations, and said they have "no direct role" in the elections.Also in
Pakistan on Friday four people were killed when a bomb detonated targeting the convoy of Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) politiican Akram Khan
Durrani survived the attack, but 39 others were wounded, officials have said.
