The former premier has said President Musharraf, who is in the eye of a storm over his action against the country's chief justice, has "totally exhausted" all his options.
LONDON: Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf, who is in the eye of a storm over his action against the country's chief justice, has "totally exhausted" all his options and is a gone man now, former premier Nawaz Sharif has said.
"His options are totally exhausted and starting from today is simply a matter of time," Sharif, who was deposed by Musharraf in a coup in 1999, told The Times.
Referring to the anti-Musharraf protests in Karachi that left 41 dead and the subsequent nationwide strike, Sharif said "protests are in every nook and cranny of the country. It is a positive development that people are realising that the dictator is destroying institutions".
Musharraf on March 9 sacked Chief Justice Muhammed Iftikhar Chaudhry on charges of abuse of power.
Asked about former premier Benazir Bhutto and her reported talks with Musharraf, Sharif said his relations with the PPP leader are cordial
"I keep talking to her, I try to discuss with her the implications of democracy of talking to a dictator," the PML (N) leader said.
The report said talks between Musharraf and Bhutto appear to have collapsed but the US has supported the notion, hoping that it may dilute the embarrassingly anti-democratic features of its ally.
The Pakistan Muslim League chief said "I feel personally let down by US President George Bush" for his support of Musharraf.
"Pakistan's President is hoodwinking the international community, telling them that he is the only option except extremists, and that is absolute rubbish," he said adding for the sake of courting "one man, Bush is alienating 160 million Pakistan".
He said Musharraf should have "consulted Parliament and the people" before backing the US in the 2001 Afghan invasion and the War on Terror. "He is erratic, unpredictable and impulsive - I don't know what President Bush thinks of that."
Sharif said if elections were actually held, he would try to return to campaign, despite the unpredictable response from the Government. "London is a very nice place, but I'm looking forward to going back."
He rejected any suggestion that he could now regret his own decision to launch Pakistan's 1998 nuclear test, which triggered US sanctions and an economic slump.
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