WASHINGTON, Sept 2: Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif assured the United States on Sunday that if elected, he would be more effective than President Pervez Musharraf in fighting terrorism.“It’s very simple: we’re all against terror,” said Mr Sharif in an interview with CNN. “I am against terror as much as anybody else in this world.”

Political analysts see this statement as an effort to improve his image in Washington where his previous links to Pakistan’s religious political parties are often over emphasised. US media reports — including some in mainstream newspapers — claim that Mr Sharif also had contacts with Al Qaeda while in power, a charge he denies.

In his interview, Mr Sharif tried to dispel the impression that Washington needs a strongman like President Musharraf to keep Pakistan on its side in the war against terror. “You can’t fight terror as the way Mr Musharraf is fighting. He needs the threat of terror for his own survival. We will fight out of conviction,” Mr Sharif said.

“So I think a democratic government can effectively fight terror with the support of the parliament, with the support of the people of the country, which is of course not there with Mr Musharraf.”

Mr Sharif also recalled that he had “excellent rapport” with the-then US president Bill Clinton on fighting extremism before he was ousted in October 1999.

His interview with CNN was different — both in tone and substance — from his previous statements criticising the West for “blindly” backing Gen Musharraf.

“The West should clearly differentiate between a democratic rule and misrule because he (Gen Musharraf) is the one who has brought Pakistan to the brink of collapse,” Mr Sharif said on Saturday. “I only want that the West should take note of what he’s doing and withdraw support from a dictator.”

Mr Sharif also said the people of Pakistan were “dismayed and disappointed” with the American support to Gen Musharraf.

In Washington, such statements were seen as indicating Mr Sharif’s desire to distance himself from the United States and the US-led war against terror because he believed that both were unpopular in Pakistan.

But in his interview with CNN, Mr Sharif not only tried to warm up to Washington but also presented himself as better equipped to fight terrorism than Gen Musharraf. In doing so, he endorsed the views already expressed by PPP chairperson Benazir Bhutto who also says that an elected leader can be more effective in the war on terror than a military ruler.

In his interview with CNN, Mr Sharif criticised Ms Bhutto for holding talks with President Musharraf, saying that any contact with the military ruler violated the charter of democracy Ms Bhutto had signed.

He said he was undaunted by threats of his arrest on criminal charges if he returns to Pakistan and would go as planned.

Mr Sharif said if the government brought corruption cases against him, he would seek justice from the court. “Our track record shows that there are no cases of any corruption, no cases of any commission or kickbacks,” he added.

“If he (Gen Musharraf) wants to manufacture cases against me, that is his choice because he doesn’t believe in the rule of law, he doesn’t believe in the Constitution, he doesn’t believe in ethics, morality,” he said.

“He believes in might is right, he believes in the law of the jungle.”