Former premier Nawaz Sharif arrived in Lahore on Sunday to a rapturous welcome by supporters after a seven-year exile in Saudi Arabia, demanding that military ruler Pervez Musharraf, who ousted him in 1999, roll back emergency and provide "a level playing field" in the January elections.
Wearing his trademark attire, the traditional white salwar suit and a black waistcoat, Sharif, 57, arrived in a special aircraft provided by the Saudi royal family at 6.15 pm (6.45 pm IST) amidst tight security.
Thousands of Pakistan Muslim League-N workers, chanting "Long live Sharif!" and "Go Musharraf go", massed outside the Allama Iqbal airport to greet Sharif despite orders issued by the authorities to prevent gatherings of five or more people.
"I thank God that I have arrived in Pakistan," the two-time prime minister told party leaders who greeted him on his second homecoming in three months, which was distinctly different from his return in September, when he was arrested and bundled off to Saudi Arabia by Musharraf within four hours of landing in Islamabad.
This time, however, Musharraf had approved of his return following intervention by Saudi Arabia, where Sharif has been living in exile since being ousted, and the breakdown of power-sharing talks between the general and another former premier Benazir Bhutto.
Declaring that he did not believe in politics of "vengeance", Sharif said, "We will fully participate in the national politics", indicating that his party will contest the general elections for which the filing of nominations will end on Monday.
Arriving ahead of the January elections, Sharif asked Musharraf to ensure a "level playing field" to facilitate free and fair polls.
"He (Musharraf) has to first roll back all that he has done since November 3. That is very essential, everything he has done since November 3 has to be reversed and rolled back completely before we can discuss about the possibility of any talks," Sharif said in Medina prior to his departure to Lahore.
Asked if he would agree to a power-sharing deal that envisaged Musharraf as president and him as prime minister, Sharif said: "No, no, no, no question."
"I can't alone decide. Of course the All Parties Democratic Movement can decide on it (holding talks with Musharraf," the 57-year-old leader of PML-N added.
Many supporters broke through police barricades and entered the airport, shouting slogans and waving posters and the PML-N's green flags.
After disembarking from the aircraft, Sharif and his brother Shahbaz were escorted to the airport building by a large group of policemen.
They were hugged and embraced by many PML-N leaders.
Party workers jostled with each other and policemen to get a glimpse of their leader. Some party workers carried Shahbaz on their shoulders when he and a jubilant Sharif emerged from the VIP lounge.
The scenes were reminiscent of former premier and Pakistan People's Party leader Benazir Bhutto's return to Karachi from eight years in exile on October 18, though the turnout for Sharif was smaller.
In marked contrast to the unceremonious way Sharif was deported on his return to Islamabad on September 10, state-run PTV was the first channel to beam pictures of the former premier entering the airport.
Sharif waved and shook hands with cheering PML-N supporters outside the airport.
He briefly addressed the workers to thank them before joining a motorcade that took him to Data Darbar, the shrine of 11 thcentury Sufi saint Syed Ali bin Usman al-Hajvery or Hazrat Data Ganj Baksh.
Sharif flew in from Saudi Arabia, where he has been living in exile since late 2000, with his brother Shahbaz Sharif, wife Kulsoom and other family members.
Strict security arrangements were made in Lahore, with some 6,000 police personnel, including women, deployed on the streets and at the airport.
Security was especially tight around the airport with police setting up barbed wire barricades on the road to the airport and checked vehicles at random.
Officials said they were taking no chances with security as Sharif was returning a day after two suicide bombings in Rawalpindi, the garrison city near capital Islamabad, which killed nearly 30 people.
The Saudi royal family has given Sharif a special bulletproof car, which was airlifted to Lahore on Saturday, while local authorities provided several more armoured vehicles.
Sharpshooters were posted on the roofs of all buildings along the route for Sharif's motorcade and elite police commandos were deployed to guard Sharif and his kin.
PML-N leaders claimed hundreds of workers were detained on Saturday night, but Sindh Governor Khalid Maqbool said only a few dozen people were arrested due to security considerations.
Jubilant PML-N workers have been celebrating on the streets of Lahore since Saturday night, when it became clear after several days of speculation that Sharif would return home.
The workers burst crackers and danced to frenzied drumbeats. Some drove around on motorbikes with PML-N's flags, shouting: "Long live Nawaz Sharif."
Large posters and hoardings of Sharif were hastily put up along most streets and roads of the capital of the eastern Punjab province while the leader's suburban residence was cleaned and renovated.
Apart from his brother Shahbaz, Sharif was accompanied by wife Kulsoom and other family members.
