The government has reopened corruption cases against former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, and a court on Friday ordered the arrest of his younger brother ahead of their planned return home from exile next week, lawyers said. An anti-terrorism court in the eastern city of Lahore ordered the arrest of Shahbaz Sharif, younger brother of the former premier, in a murder case, said Aftab Ahmed Bajwa, a lawyer for the plaintiff. Nawaz Sharif was toppled by President Gen. Pervez Musharraf in a 1999 coup and then sent into exile in Saudi Arabia. He has said he will come back to Pakistan to challenge the military leader's bid to extend his rule and stand in parliamentary elections, despite threats he could be re-arrested.

His younger brother is charged with ordering police to kill five men who were gunned down in Lahore in 1998. At the time of the killings, Shahbaz was the chief minister, or top executive, of Punjab province. Nawaz was Pakistan's prime minister.

On Wednesday, the father of one of the dead men filed an application to the court seeking the arrest of Shahbaz Sharif after hearing that he was due to return to Pakistan, Bajwa said. Shahbaz Sharif has denied the allegations.

Meanwhile an anti-corruption court in Rawalpindi held a hearing in a case involving allegations that the Sharif family defaulted on a bank loan and owned property beyond their known sources of income, said Zulfiqar Ahmed Bhutta, a prosecutor for the state National Accountability Bureau.

The cases date back to 2001 and 2002. Hearings had been adjourned for years, but were reopened last month following an application by the government.

Bhutta said the prosecution sought a hearing in the case on Monday - the Sharifs' planned date of return to Pakistan - but the judge on Friday adjourned the case until Sept. 13 to ensure the next hearing takes place after the Sharifs are inside the country. The brothers are currently in London.

Musharraf, a key U.S. ally in the war on terror whose popularity has shrunk since his failed attempt to fire the country's top judge earlier this year, has repeatedly said that Sharif must remain in exile for 10 years under the terms of a deal reached in 2000. But the Supreme Court ruled last month that Sharif was free to enter Pakistan and that his return should not be obstructed.

Musharraf is expected to seek re-election by lawmakers by mid-October, but has yet to make a public commitment to resign as army chief if he continues as president. Many experts say that to keep his uniform - the main source of his power - beyond 2007 would violate the Constitution.

To help smooth the way, Musharraf is trying to strike a deal with another exiled former prime minister, Benazir Bhutto, that could lead to them sharing power.

Written By SADAQAT JAN