LONDON, May 16: Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif said in an interview on Wednesday that he had “every intention” of returning home, and described President Gen Pervez Musharraf as a “gone man.” Sharif was the prime minister deposed by Gen Musharraf in a 1999 military coup –Musharraf has ruled Pakistan as president since.

According to Sharif, however, Gen Musharraf's time in power is limited. He described him to The Times newspaper as a “gone man” whose “options are totally exhausted and starting from today, (his fall) is simply a matter of time.”

Speaking from his exiled central London home, Sharif added that “protests are in every nook and cranny of the country ... It is a positive development that people are realising that the dictator is destroying institutions.” He was referring to demonstrations in Karachi against Gen Musharraf's removal of the country's top judge, which erupted into violence on Saturday when pro-government activists stopped a rally in support of the judge, leading to shooting that left over 40 dead.

Sharif continued to say that Gen Musharraf, who he described as “erratic, unpredictable and impulsive,” should have consulted with parliament and the Pakistani people before backing the United States in the so-called “war on terror” in 2001.

Gen Musharraf is “hoodwinking the international community, telling them that he is the only option except extremists, and that is absolute rubbish,” Sharif said.

He added that he felt “personally let down” by US President George W. Bush, who is “alienating 160 million Pakistanis” for Gen Musharraf.—AFP