ISLAMABAD: Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif yesterday expressed his concern over the lately introduced peace deal in the volatile northwestern Swat Valley.
In an interview with USA Today, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz party chief said that those militants were now threatening to spread their reach beyond Swat to other regions of the country, adding that such a situation needs to be avoided.
However, Sharif once again opposed US drone attacks in the tribal areas as “counterproductive,” saying that he wanted dialogue with some moderate groups.
Sharif also rubbished international doubts that the nuclear assets of the country could fall into the hands of the Taleban militants. Sharif said that, with sufficient economic development, the insurgency in Swat and the adjoining tribal areas could be defused in just two years.
The PML-N chief stressed that any deal with militants should include commitments that “democracy would not be allowed to deteriorate and the writ of the government would be honored.” Sharif also told the US media that women’s schools and universities must be allowed to stay open. Sharif avoided criticizing Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari directly in the interview, insisting that he wanted to work with the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) but also wanted the president to give up some of his presidential powers, and this matter should be resolved in Parliament, not on the streets.
He said that his party wanted to get the country back on the rails of democracy, strengthen institutions like the judiciary and the media and take necessary steps to prevent anyone from abrogating or suspending the constitution.
Sharif said politicians must set aside their differences and work together to find solutions to the Taleban insurgency plaguing the country and focus on other pressing needs.
