LONDON, May 21: Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has launched a campaign in Europe, the US and Canada to apprise these countries of what he calls the real problems facing Pakistan today warning them that if they continued to support one individual (President Musharraf) they would only end up alienating “160 million Pakistanis thirsting for democracy.”

In an interview published in Der Spiegel on Monday, the PML-N leader called the notion that the US also wanted to see democracy restored in Pakistan as a joke.

When asked how likely was a democratic government to further support the US war, given that the majority of voters opposed the US presence in Pakistan, Nawaz said: “We will fight others’ battles only if we are ideologically committed ourselves. I had a good relationship with former President Bill Clinton without offering him any guarantees. I don’t need to offer Mr. Bush any either.”

Mr Sharif also exchanged views with the Special Advisor on South Asia and Middle East to the Prime Minister of Canada, Wajid Khan.