New Delhi, Nov 29 (IANS) Former Pakistani prime minister Nawaz Sharif has denied any power-sharing deal with President Pervez Musharraf and stressed that the election, likely in January, will lack any credibility unless the sacked top judges were reinstated.
Sharif, who returned to Pakistan Sunday after forced exile in Saudi Arabia, also made a forceful pitch for restoring democracy and underlined that he will not serve under Musharraf under the present constitution to which several amendments were made.
Sharif, who was unceremoniously sent back to Saudi Arabia when he first returned from exile to Pakistan in September, exhorted India to shun the current military regime in Pakistan and wait for the restoration of democracy in the neighbouring country.
“India should wait and see and move when we have democracy back in Pakistan. It will be better that democracy talks to democracy rather than to dictatorship,” he said.
“Not at all. I can’t think of a deal with him,” Sharif told Raj Chengappa of India Today in a telephonic interview from Lahore when asked whether there was any deal between him and Musharraf. The interview will be published in the latest edition of the newsmagazine, which will hit the stands Friday.
“A deal is only possible if either I abandon my stand and start supporting dictatorship or Mr Musharraf abandons his stand and starts supporting democracy,” he said.
“He would perhaps have to make a big compromise. There was a proposal to have a meeting but I don’t think it would have served any purpose. By the grace of God, there was no deal or give and take,” he said.
“There was nothing that I demanded of Musharraf. The only thing I wanted was a level playing field in Pakistan. I wanted the judiciary, that was told to go out of office, to be restored,” he said.
“Whatever he may do – doff his uniform, lift the emergency, withdraw the Provisional Constitutional Order (PCO) but as long as he doesn’t reinstate the judiciary to the position it was on Nov 3, when he imposed martial law or emergency, the problem will remain unresolved.”
“What I wanted was constitutional amendments to be lifted. Of course, these things haven’t been done,” Sharif said while stressing that he could not find any change on the ground in Pakistan after he returned from years of exile first in London and then in Saudi Arabia.
He rejected speculation about a possible alliance with Benazir Bhutto, a former prime minister who is said to enjoy the backing of the US in the evolving political situation in Pakistan.
“We are not thinking of any electoral alliance with Benazir Bhutto but we would certainly like to sit and discuss possibilities of putting forward joint demands to ensure free and fair elections,” Sharif said.
“The key issue of course is that the judiciary must be reinstated. All other things are secondary,” he stressed.
Calling for the restoration of “undiluted democracy” in Pakistan, Sharif said the army should not meddle in affairs of governance and confine itself to the role prescribed in the constitution.
He rubbished the elections slated for January next year, saying that the since the Election Commissioner is “a handpicked man of Musharraf”, the entire exercise lacks credibility.
“Though I have filed the nomination papers, under these circumstances one is sceptical about the transparency of the elections.
“Actually it is the president of Pakistan who is calling all the shots and is all powerful today. The prime minister is totally subservient to the president,” he replied when asked whether he will serve under Musharraf if he were elected the prime minister.