Musharraf has decided never to return to Pakistan: Aide

Former military dictator Pervez Musharraf has "conceded to his exile in London" and made up his mind not to return to Pakistan in the wake of the Supreme Court's verdict that the emergency imposed by him in 2007 was unconstitutional, according to one of his close aides.

Musharraf has also given up his plans to enter the political arena as the odds are against him, senior Pakistan Muslim League (Quaid-e-Azam faction) leader Faisal Saleh Hayat, who served as a federal minister in the former president's regime, said.

Hayat recently met Musharraf in London for consultations in connection with the Supreme Court's verdict. The ruling has raised the possibility of Musharraf being tried for treason. But such a trial can only be initiated by the government.

Musharraf was "perturbed" by statements made by main opposition PML (Nawaz) chief Nawaz Sharif against him and has been asking his supporters to issue rejoinders against them, Hayat told The News.

Hayat said he had advised Musharraf to return to Pakistan to contest all cases against him. "You must create your credibility first as you ditched the party [PML(Q)] that provided the support that was required by you for your survival," he claimed he told Musharraf. "But you unfortunately struck an underhand deal with the late [former premier] Benazir Bhutto. If you are keen to try your luck in politics, then you must return to Pakistan to fight the allegations [against you]."