Former Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif was arrested here today and flown to Saudi Arabia after he arrived here intent on leading an effort to oust current president, General Pervez Musharraf.

The harsh government action is an indication of the profound threat that Sharif poses for Musharraf and appears to fly in the face of a recent Supreme Court ruling that ordered that Sharif should be allowed to return to Pakistan unhindered. It will set the stage for another clash with the country’s newly independent chief justice, lawyers warned.

Sharif was dragged out of a lounge in the Islamabad airport by several police officers after being served with an arrest warrant for a money laundering case that was revived recently. The government also arrested almost all the members of the leadership of his political party as they tried to travel to the airport to greet him.

It was unclear exactly on what basis Sharif left the country. Tariq Azim Khan, Pakistan’s state minister for information, said Sharif had chosen to leave for Saudi Arabia, where he has been in exile, instead of remaining in Pakistan under arrest.

“While he was being taken to detention, he was offered, if he wanted to avail the opportunity, to go to Saudi Arabia as per the agreement,” Khan said. “He opted to go to Saudi Arabia. We arranged a special flight and he flew out of Islamabad.” Sharif arrived in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, a few hours later, Saudi officials said. He was then whisked away in a convoy with sirens blaring to his residence in Al-Hamra district, known locally as the Sharif Palace, near the US consulate.

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