LAHORE, May 11: PML-N president Mian Shahbaz Sharif, who landed at the Lahore airport at 6:05pm on Tuesday ending what he called his 'forced exile', was sent to Saudi Arabia by a special PIA plane after only 100 minutes' stay at the airport.

Mian Shahbaz came to Lahore on a Gulf Air Flight from Abu Dhabi where he had stopped over for a few hours after travelling from London. His plea that because of the 18-hour London-UAE- Lahore journey he was medically unfit to travel to a new destination, was turned down by the authorities.

A team of doctors examined him and concluded that the PML-N leader faced no health problems and was fit to travel. Still, as a precautionary measure a doctor was directed to accompany the former chief minister to Jeddah for in-flight care.

While the plane was about to land in Lahore, it was announced on the public address system that general passengers would disembark before a VIP who was on board, an obvious reference to Mian Shahbaz.

However, the PML-N chief hastily came out of the plane along with other passengers and the Lahore SSP served on him an arrest warrant in connection with a case of a police encounter the former chief minister is accused of having ordered. Five people were killed in the encounter and a local court has already declared Mian Shahbaz an absconder.

The Alliance for Restoration of Democracy had announced that it would take processions to the airport to receive Mian Shahbaz but its leaders and workers spent almost the entire day in fights with police in various parts of the city. As a result, no opposition activist could reach the airport.

Clashes were also reported from different parts of Punjab. Mian Shahbaz had gone to Saudi Arabia along with other members of the Sharif family in December 2000 for a period of 10 years.

However, more than a year ago he sought permission from the government of Pakistan to leave Jeddah and go to the United States for treatment of a cancerous growth in intestine. He stayed in the US for some months and then moved to London along with his family.

A few months back, he made a statement that he would end his exile and return to Pakistan, irrespective of the consequences he might have to face. The government reminded him that the exile accord did not permit him to set foot on Pakistan's soil for 10 years.

Mian Shahbaz decided to go ahead with the plan to return and play his role in national politics. To ensure that the government did not block his return, the former chief minister filed a petition before the Supreme Court and its verdict encouraged him to come back to Pakistan.

According to a journalist, who travelled with the former chief minister from London, Mian Shahbaz was not expecting to be deported. At most, he thought he would be arrested and made to face cases pending against him.

But his assessment changed when he landed in the UAE. On the basis of some information, he had started believing that he would be sent back to Saudi Arabia. It was probably for this reason that he did not bring his family along and asked them to stay on in the UAE.

It is said that in an interview in London, Mian Shahbaz had said that he would resist deportation to Saudi Arabia because such a step would be illegal on the part of the government. He also indicated that he would give a call for resistance to his followers.

According to PML-N leader Ijaz Shafi, who travelled with Mian Shahbaz, the former chief minister was prepared to be arrested but he did not believe that he would be sent back to Saudi Arabia.