LAHORE, May 2: Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif has said he still prays PPP chairperson Benazir Bhutto does not strike a deal with Gen Pervez Musharraf because such a step will not be in the national interest after several years of joint struggle against dictatorship.

Talking to Dawn by telephone from Dubai, he said that under the Charter of Democracy, no ARD party was allowed to hold talks with dictators.

Mr Sharif arrived in Dubai from London on Wednesday. He will go to Abu Dhabi on Thursday to offer condolences to the ruling family over the death of a son of Shaikh Nahyan bin Mubarak. He is scheduled to return to London on Friday morning.

PPP chairperson Benazir Bhutto and ARD chairman Makhdoom Amin Fahim are also in Dubai, but there is no possibility of a meeting between the two former prime ministers.

Differences between the PML-N and the PPP over the issue of Ms Bhutto’s reported contacts with the government for a deal are deepening by the day. However, the PPP doesn’t think it necessary to explain its position to the PML-N.

“Nobody has the right to question our position,” Mr Fahim told Dawn. He was, however, confident that the ARD would stay intact.

He denied he would meet PML-N leaders Raja Zafarul Haq or Iqbal Zafar Jhagra on May 5 to brief them on the nature of contacts between the PPP and the government. He said a meeting of the ARD would be called after the first week of May. However, he did not give an exact date.