LAHORE, March 7 Former President Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf is neither returning to Pakistan nor planning to enter politics, a close aide to the former president said here on Sunday.

Talking to journalists after an event at the Lahore Race Club, Tariq Aziz said the economic situation was better when Gen Musharraf ruled the country, but now poverty was rising with a fast pace. He urged the PPP-led coalition government to change policies and take steps to bridge the widening gap between the poor and the rich.

“All people are now thinking that the Musharraf regime was better than the present government,” he said.

He said the people had learnt a lot after forcing the former army chief to resign and would learn more in coming days.

He declined to comment when asked if the former army chief would join any

political party. “It's not an appropriate time to reply to this query.”