ISLAMABAD, 26 August 2007 — A judge of the Accountability Court of Rawalpindi yesterday refused to issue an arrest warrant for exiled ex-Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in corruption cases, removing the last hurdle in his return to Pakistan permitted by the Supreme Court Thursday.

“The Supreme Court of Pakistan has clearly stated that Nawaz Sharif and his brother Shahbaz Sharif’s return shall not be obstructed in anyway,” Judge Khalid Mehommod ruled. The anti-graft court adjourned yesterday a hearing into corruption charges against Sharif, saying he should attend the proceedings in person.

“The Supreme Court has allowed the accused person to come back ... therefore, this court will have to wait until the accused person reaches Pakistan,” a deputy attorney general, Zulifqar Bhutta, told Reuters.

The next hearing was set for Sept. 7, although Sharif has not said when he would return. Sharif was sent into exile in Saudi Arabia in 2001, two years after Musharraf overthrew him in a military coup.

But the top court declared the expulsion illegal and ruled that the ex-premier had an “inalienable right to enter and remain in country as a citizen of Pakistan.”

Sharif’s expected return could spark a massive opposition movement for the restoration of democracy, in a major blow to the military ruler who is already being jolted by rising militancy in the country and diminishing public support.

The government had re-opened the cases of corruption against Sharif earlier this month in a bid to prevent the opposition leader from returning home.

Attorney General Malik Qayuum has also warned that the government could revive his life imprisonment that was remitted after he was expelled.

Sharif, who served twice as prime minister in the 1990s, was sentenced in 2000 for treason, tax evasion and hijacking.

In another blow to Musharraf, federal minister Ishaq Khakwani said that he should quit as army chief. Khakwani’s statement is seen as a sign of dissent in the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-(Q).

Meanwhile, the embattled president sent emissaries to both of his adversaries — Sharif and another former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, sources said.

A retired brigadier, who is close to both Musharraf and Sharif, has been sent to London to open communications with the former prime minister.

Sources said a delegation of five members with two important generals left for New York early yesterday to finalize a settlement with Benazir.