Pat Dollard | Young Americans

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) - Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was deported Monday hours after he had landed in Pakistan from seven years in exile hoping to campaign against the country’s U.S.-allied military ruler, two officials and Pakistani media reported.

About four hours after he arrived on a flight from London, Sharif was taken into custody and charged with corruption, but then quickly spirited to another plane and flown out of Pakistan toward Jeddah in Saudi Arabia, an intelligence official said.

An official in President Gen. Musharraf’s office confirmed Sharif was deported but did not divulge his destination.

Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to speak to media.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP)—Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was arrested on corruption charges Monday soon after his return from exile to Pakistan, where he had planned to campaign against the U.S.-allied military ruler who ousted him eight years ago, officials said.

Three hours after he arrived on a flight from London, Sharif was led away from the VIP lounge at Islamabad airport by police after a warrant was served, an Associated Press reporter at the scene said.

Sharif did not resist but appeared angry as he was taken out of the airport in a vehicle.

A senior investigator from Pakistan’s anti-corruption body who served the warrant, Azhar Mahmood Qazi, said Sharif was being held on money- laundering and corruption charges stemming from a sugar mill business several years ago. Sharif was accused of laundering $21.2 million, he said.

Qazi said Sharif was now in the custody of Pakistan’s National Accountability Bureau and would be produced before an anti-corruption court. He gave no more details.

Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, president of Pakistan’s ruling party, confirmed to the Geo TV network that Sharif had been arrested, saying the two-time former premier had been given a choice of going into exile again or be arrested. He said Sharif had chosen detention.

Khawaja Asif, a senior figure in Sharif’s party, said he had heard reports that the former premier was now in custody.

“We don’t mind. If the government has any cases against him we are ready to face them,” he told Dawn News TV, adding that they had filed petition with the Supreme Court asking the government to present Sharif there.

Sharif was ousted in a military coup by Musharraf in 1999. He was sent into exile under an 2000 agreement—made after he was convicted of terrorism and hijacking charges in Pakistan—under which he allegedly promised to stay away for 10 years.

His arrest increases political tensions ahead of presidential and legislative elections. It comes as Musharraf’s grip on power has faltered and his government struggles to combat surging Islamic extremism that has spread from the Afghan border.