By B Izzak

KUWAIT: Leading opposition figure and former MP Faisal Al-Muslim yesterday returned to Kuwait after three and a half years in exile after an Amiri pardon was issued following sessions of a national dialogue. Hundreds of supporters including several current and former lawmakers received Muslim at the Airport and at his Diwaniya in Kheitan despite a four-hour delay in the Kuwait Airways flight due to a massive storm that hit Istanbul just before the scheduled takeoff.

Muslim is the last former opposition MP to return from exile. In the past 10 days, five other former opposition MPs and four activists returned to the country. Only one activist, Abdulaziz Al-Jarallah, has not returned because he is involved in other court cases. HH the Amir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah earlier this month pardoned the 11 opposition MPs and activists from years of jail terms passed by the top court after convicting them of storming the Assembly building following an anti-corruption protest in November 2011.

Before boarding the plane in Istanbul, Muslim thanked the Kuwaiti people, the Amir and all those who contributed to the pardon. People gathered outside Sheikh Saad Airport, where Muslim was taken from terminal T4, and exploded in joy when he emerged from the terminal. He kneeled down and kissed the ground immediately after coming out of the plane. At Muslim's Diwaniya, there was a display of fireworks as people performed national and folkloric dances in celebration of his return.