DUBAI, Jan 1: The husband of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto has vowed that nothing will stop him returning to his homeland following his release after eight years in jail, a newspaper reported on Saturday.

"That is not even a remote possibility, nobody can stop me from returning. I don't get stopped so easily," Asif Ali Zardari told the English language Gulf News after arriving in Dubai, where his wife is in self-imposed exile to avoid graft charges in Pakistan.

"In order of priority, first I am here to meet my wife whom I have not seen for the last five-and-a-half years, our family will be reunited, then I will take instruction on how we should handle the future," he added.

Asked if he was prepared for a return to jail if cases are re-opened against him, he said: "In Third World countries like ours, it's a risk you must be willing to take. As for me, jail does not frighten me."

Mr Asif strongly denied that his release from jail was the result of any "deal" between the government of President Pervez Musharraf and Ms Benazir Bhutto's opposition Pakistan People's Party. "If I wanted to make a deal, I could have done it eight years ago," he said. "Eight years is a lifetime, why would I want to spend it in jail when I could have been free."

Analysts have said his release could herald an improvement in ties with Musharraf. -AFP