LONDON, 31 August 2007 — Two former Pakistani prime ministers were yesterday jockeying for pole position to re-enter the political cauldron of Pakistani politics.

Nawaz Sharif, in exile for the last seven years, declared at a news conference in London yesterday afternoon that he would return to Pakistan on Sept. 10. Sharif was ousted in a military coup in 1999 by Gen. Pervez Musharraf, who has since ruled the South Asian country with an iron fist. Nawaz Sharif was sentenced to life in prison for offenses including tax evasion and treason before he went into exile following the 1999 coup, as a compromise suggested by fellow Muslim countries.

“Inshallah (God willing), it will be on the 10th of September that we will land in Islamabad and go to Lahore by road,” confirmed Sharif. The former premier said he planned to “start a decisive struggle against dictatorship.”

Nawaz Sharif risks being arrested should he go back. He still faces jail terms for corruption and treason that were waived under the exile agreement.

Benazir Bhutto, the other former prime minister, similarly declared on the Today program on BBC Radio 4 that her representatives had been in secret talks with Musharraf on her return to Pakistan and contesting elections there provided that Musharraf stepped down from his army post but could remain as president of the Islamic republic. Talks on a power-sharing deal have been going on for months and it is likely that Benazir will also return to Pakistan in September.

In Islamabad, a spokesman for the president said Musharraf had yet to decide whether to step down as army chief. The spokesman, Rashid Qureshi, said no final agreement had been reached.

In a broadside to Benazir, Sharif said it would be “unfortunate” if she made a deal with Musharraf. “I disagree with Ms Bhutto’s current policy of shaking hands with a dictator. She has given me her word, and she is going back on it. This man, Musharraf, is on his way out... no one should try to rescue his sinking ship for personal motives,” Sharif said.

President Musharraf is a key ally of President George Bush in his “war on terror,” but has seen his support collapse in recent months. Protests over his suspension of Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry earlier this year have proved damaging, as has the government’s inability to quell extremist violence.

The irony in this Pakistani saga is that it was Sharif, 57, who as prime minister appointed Musharraf as Pakistan’s chief of staff in 1998. But the pair fell out over a run-in with nuclear rival India on Kashmir. Sharif subsequently tried to sack the general, who merely toppled him in a bloodless coup in 1999.

The Pakistani community in the UK remains ambivalent depending on which party they support. However, many British Pakistanis were not even aware that Sharif had decided to return to Pakistan.

“It is too early to give you a measured reaction. I suppose it is a good thing that both Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif should return to Pakistan so that they could participate in general elections there. Pakistan needs stability. But what will happen when they get back is anybody’s business,” stressed Mohammad Sajid, project coordinator at the Pakistan Community Center in north west London.