Nawaz Sharif asks people to rise against Musharraf

LONDON: Accusing President Pervez Musharraf of pushing Pakistan to a point where it has now been referred to as a failed state, exiled former Premier Nawaz Sharif has asked people to rise against the military ruler.

Addressing a convention on the occasion of Yum-e-Takbeer, held to celebrate nuclear tests by Pakistan in 1999, in Birmingham on Sunday, Sharif said he could not join hands with those who violated the Constitution.

Sharif opined that accepting the Legal Framework Order (LFO) and 17th Amendment in the Constitution would amount to betraying the people. He said if he accepted it, he would be invited by Musharraf to come back to the country.

Sharif charged Musharraf with pushing the country towards a place where people had started calling it a failed state. "India is also facing many problems, including poverty, but nobody calls it a failed state," he said.