New Delhi: Saudi Arabia has reportedly warned former Pakistani prime minister Nawaz Sharif against returning to his country.
A Saudi news agency quoted an unnamed Saudi official as saying that Sharif would be an unwelcome guest in the Arab kingdom once he returned to Pakistan.
The Saudis had given Sharif asylum in 1999 on the promise that he will not return to Pakistan and to political activity. Sharif went to London from Saudi Arabia last year.
He has vowed to go back to Pakistan on September 10. Saudi Arabia has close ties with Musharraf.
On Tuesday, Saudi police also reportedly rounded up around 50 Sharif supporters.
Sharif’s party spokesman said that he will return on September 10 to challenge President Pervez Musharraf despite a request from Saudi Arabia not to go back.
Pakistan's Supreme Court ruled last month that Sharif's had an ''inalienable right'' to return home but the government said he had pledged, in an agreement guaranteed by Saudi leaders, to stay in exile and out of politics for 10 years.
An unidentified Saudi government official urged Sharif yesterday to honour his commitment not to go to Pakistan and take part in politics, according to a report from the official Saudi Press Agency, published on its Web site.
''Wisdom demands that Nawaz Sharif commit himself to the promises he made,'' the Saudi official was quoted as saying. Sharif still faces corruption charges in Pakistan.
(With agency inputs)
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