Following a military coup in 1999, then Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was brought to trial by the military for 'kidnapping, terrorism, corruption, and attempted murder. In order to avoid a life sentence, King Fahd of Saudi Arabia and President Bill Clinton pressured the Pakistan military, who subsequently placed Sharif in exile for 10 years. He returned to Pakistan in 2007, after a lengthy stand off with the military on the airport runway in Islamabad.