Maj Attiq-ur-Rehman posted at the 450-acre estate belonging to Sharif and his family, said that the deposed prime minister made his first telephone call to his family on Tuesday -- exactly two weeks after the military ousted his government.

"I received the call and he sounded normal. He said "major how are you. You are just like a son to me," said Rehman. He gave the telephone to Sharif's family, who spoke to him for one hour.

It's not known where Sharif is being held and until now the ousted prime minister has not been allowed contact with anyone. International and Pakistani human rights groups have demanded Sharif either be charged or released. They are also demanding that he be given access to a lawyer.

"Every member of his family talked to him. He sounded relaxedand he told them "I am in perfect condition. I am being looked after. There is no need to worry," said Rehman.

In one of the first visits to the Sharif estate, some 27 kilometres from the eastern Punjab capital of Lahore, Rehman took a few reporters on a tour of the deposed prime minister's grand residence, that he had not yet occupied. Rehman said Sharif and his family were to move into the newly constructed home on October 15.

An imposing 10-foot gate flanked by two guard houses and occupied by armed soldiers, welcomed visitors to the Sharif estate. On the lush grounds there were 24 different aviaries. Giant rolls of barbed wire encircled the fields demarcating the family's property.

A winding driveway led to Sharif's 27-room grand marble home. An ornately carved wooden door opened into a cavernous marble-floored entrance guarded by two stuffed tigers. Giant floor-to-ceiling windows led to the lush green lawns from a dining room filled with plush velvet furniture and a dining room table to seat 18people. A kitchen equipped with five ovens and four refrigerators ran the length of the main floor.

The ceilings in many of the 27 rooms were handpainted with the traditional Moghul miniature scenes. The floor in each room was polished marble and each was a different colour. The marble of the dining room was yellow, in a nearby room it was black, and green.

Since the coup, Rehman said the Sharif family has been living on the Raiwind estate together in a single house.