August 18, 2007	Saturday	Sha’aban 4, 1428

ISLAMABAD, Aug 17: Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif has warned PPP leader Benazir Bhutto against cutting a deal with embattled President Pervez Musharraf, saying it would dent her credibility.

“Musharraf is a drowning man at this stage, he has no options left. I hate to say this but I think he is like a sinking ship,” Mr Sharif said in an interview with India’s NDTV news channel.

“Anybody who cuts a deal with Musharraf at this stage would damage his own credibility and I don’t want to damage my credibility,” he said in the interview conducted in Dubai.

“She must come back

and join the struggle for restoration of democracy, join the struggle for pushing the army back into the barracks and join the struggle for banning the entry of generals into politics because this has done great harm,” said the former prime minister.

Mr Sharif denies any deal with Musharraf and has petitioned the Supreme Court seeking instructions for the government to lift restrictions on his return.—Reuters