Nawaz Sharif, the former prime minister of Pakistan deposed in a bloodless coup by General Pervez Musharraf in 1999, is planning to return home within a fortnight to head an eve-of-Ramadan campaign aimed at unseating the military leader.

It is the clearest challenge so far by Pakistan’s opposition to Gen Musharraf, who is fighting to stay on as president while keeping command of the army, after months of unrest that have weakened his grip on power.