Nawaz Sharif: Pakistan will not survive with Musharraf in power

With the death of Benazir Bhutto and her leaderless party in mourning, Nawaz Sharif has emerged as the focus for civilian opposition to President Musharraf's deeply unpopular government. Yesterday he told 'The Independent on Sunday' that the President should "step down immediately".

Speaking as he prepared to go to Ms Bhutto's ancestral village in rural Sindh to offer his condolences, Mr Sharif said: "This tragedy has happened during a dictatorship. Dictatorships have ruined this country. Mr Musharraf must step down immediately. This country will not survive with him in power."

Though banned from standing in the election scheduled for 8 January, Mr Sharif was campaigning for his party on Thursday in Rawalpindi, the garrison town where Ms Bhutto was killed on Thursday. He hurried to the hospital, only to discover that his once bitter rival had died.

In the 1980s and 1990s the two politicians vied for power, each serving twice as PM and each being deposed twice amid allegations of corruption. In 1999 Mr Sharif was ousted by General Musharraf, then army chief.

They buried their differences in 2004 to form the Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy. Though they fell out after it was revealed that Ms Bhutto was involved in power-sharing negotiations with President Musharraf, they met earlier this month to discuss a boycott of the election. Both decided to drop the idea and began campaigning, despite their vocal concerns that the elections would be rigged.

"I'm personally very grieved," he said yesterday. "I keep thinking back to my last meeting with Benazir Bhutto. She wished for the country to return to democracy. She wished for an end to dictatorship. We discussed the elections and how they were being manipulated."

Mr Sharif has since told his party's candidates to pull out. "We are boycotting the elections against the brutal killing of Benazir Bhutto. No elections can take place under Musharraf. His high-handedness and ruthless approach have put the country in great danger. He has destroyed the institutions of Pakistan the constitution, the judiciary, parliament, the media."