Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif has promised to return to Pakistan next month to thwart President General Pervez Musharraf's bid to extend his rule.
Mr Sharif yesterday vowed to return next month after seven years in exile to formally start his campaign to oust the military leader. His comeback would set up a three-cornered fight for power, also involving rival ex-premier Benazir Bhutto.
"The battle lines in Pakistan are clearly drawn: on one side you have the people loyal to democracy . . . on the other side are the forces of a dying dictatorship," Mr Sharif said in London.
Former Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif
He condemned an agreement that Ms Bhutto, another exiled former premier, said she was close to finalising with Gen Musharraf that could see them share power.
Ms Bhutto, who said she will return by December, claimed Gen Musharraf had agreed to step down as head of the army, ending military rule eight years after the general ousted Mr Sharif in a bloodless coup.
Gen Musharraf said he had made no such decision.
Mr Sharif said he would lead politicians in opposing any agreement that prolongs Gen Musharraf's regime. "Musharraf's uniform is not an issue. The real issue is his illegitimate rule," Mr Sharif said. "This man Musharraf is on his way out. No one should try to rescue him."
The Supreme Court ruled last week that the conservative, secularist Mr Sharif, who has been in exile since 2000, and his politician brother could return to Pakistan.
However, Pakistani government officials have said that Mr Sharif could be re-arrested upon reaching Pakistani soil on charges dating to the 1999 coup.