ISLAMABAD, 3 August 2007 — The Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) filed two separate petitions in the Supreme Court yesterday seeking the return of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his brother Shahbaz Sharif.

Lawyer Fakhruddin G. Ibrahim in the petitions said Nawaz and Shahbaz were bona fide citizens of Pakistan and there was no constitutional clause which could block their return to Pakistan. He also cited an earlier Supreme Court judgment that allowed Shahbaz to return to Pakistan.

Chairman of the PML (N) Raja Zafarul Haq expressed the hope that Sharif brothers will return before the next election.

Another PML (N) leader Syed Zafar Ali Shah told reporters that the Supreme Court is different now and would give a verdict on the merit of the case.

Musharraf expelled Sharif and his family from Pakistan in 2000, a year after toppling him from power.

“The court should order the government not to directly or indirectly obstruct, hamper or resist Nawaz Sharif and his family members ... to return to their country or force them to live in continued exile,” the petition said.

The appeal comes after Sharif and another former Premier Benazir Bhutto — who is living in self-imposed exile due to corruption charges — both said they would return to Pakistan for elections that are due by early next year. Sharif still officially heads his faction of the Pakistan Muslim League party from exile, while Benazir is the leader of the centrist Pakistan People’s Party.

“We are filing the plea as our confidence in the judiciary has now been fully restored,” Pakistan Muslim League lawmaker Khawaja Mohammad Asif, who filed the petitions told reporters outside the court. The Sharifs had a “fundamental right” to return to the country as Pakistani citizens, Asif said.

“The judiciary is now completely free and we want a decision in accordance with the law and the constitution,” Pakistan Muslim League Secretary-General Zafar Iqbal Jhagra told reporters.

Benazir to Contest Polls

Benazir has said she will return from exile this year to take part in the general elections, according to an interview published yesterday.

“Yes, the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and I will be part of an election in Pakistan this year,” Benazir told the English-language Emirates Today newspaper.

Benazir held secret talks in Abu Dhabi on Friday with Musharraf about a pre-election power-sharing deal, but they reached no agreement on two key issues, Pakistani officials said.

Benazir said talks between her political party and the government aimed to restore stability to Pakistan, but it was too soon to be certain of their outcome.

“The contacts between the PPP and the Musharraf regime are aimed at restoring democracy and the rule of law,” Benazir told the UAE newspaper. “It is too early to say whether a deal may be brokered to re-establish democracy in Pakistan but both sides are discussing the issue.”

‘PM May Have to Step Down’

Newly-appointed Attorney General Malik Mohammad Qayyum said yesterday the prime minister will have to step down if the reference against the chief justice sent by the president on March 9 proves to have been filed with mala fide intention.

Qayyum had represented the government in Iftikhar Chaudhry’s case that was heard by the full bench of the Supreme Court.

Talking to journalists in the top court yesterday, Qayyum said, “We are waiting for the full judgment which will be issued by the top court after sometime. If the reference was found to be based on malice, the only course for the prime minister would be to step down.”

Responding to questions, he said the government had no plan to file a new reference against the chief justice. He said, “We wish to have cordial relations with the judiciary.”