Former prime minister and PML-N President Nawaz Sharif, who is the strongest contender to become the next prime minister, said dialogue and not armed intervention is the answer to deal with terror.

In an interview with CNN-IBN, Nawaz said “This problem has to be solved on priority basis, there is no doubt about it and you can’t solve all the problems through guns and bullets. You’ve got to also explore other options. Options of engagement, maybe those options work. In many countries problems have been solved by sitting across the table.”

When asked whether he would start dialogue side by side with the war on terror, or would dialogue replace the war on terror, Nawaz said “No, I think all the options will have to be exercised.”

To another question, the PML-N chief stated that if he comes to power post the May 11 elections, he will ensure the Army doesn’t interfere in the affairs of the civilian government. “I do not know whether this is happening at the Centre in Islamabad. All I know is when I was the prime minister the policies were being formulated by the federal government, by the civilian head of the state and then of course executed by the institutions. I want that to continue and I am very clear on that, everybody must remain in their respective domains.”

Nawaz maintained that the prime minister is the boss of the army chief. “He is. He is. The Army is the attached department of the federal government and of course the chief of army staff works under the federal government and implements the policies of the federal government. So I think, as I just mentioned I don’t know if that is happening in Islamabad. I believe it is not happening like that,” he added.

Nawaz said if voted to power, he would constitute a commission to probe Kargil conflict and its investigation report would be made public.In another interview with Reuters, Nawaz Sharif said the country should reconsider its support for the US war on militancy and suggested that he was in favour of negotiations with the Taliban.

Nawaz said the military’s US-backed campaign against the Taliban was not the best way to defeat the insurgency. “I think guns and bullets are always not the answer to such problems,” he told Reuters in an interview in his black armoured car on Saturday. “I think other options need to be explored at the same time and see what is workable. And I think we’re going to pursue all these other options.”

Nawaz wants a review of the backing provided for the US war on militancy under the previous government’s approach. “Someone will have to take this problem seriously. All stakeholders will have to sit down together and understand the concerns of all parties and then take a decision, which is in the best interest of Pakistan and the international community.”

His comments are likely to anger Washington, which has been pushing Pakistan to both stamp out domestic militancy and to help defeat the Afghan Taliban.
To a question, Nawaz said Musharraf’s plight should serve as an example to other top brass who may be planning a takeover - a rare warning in a country that has been ruled by the army for more than half of its history.

Pakistan is undergoing a transition, said Nawaz, who was groomed by a military dictator in the 1980s but has since become a harsh critic of military intervention in politics.

“This accountability which is now taking place is itself a lesson to all those who have any such designs in the future,” he said. “Now Musharraf has come back and look at what he’s going through. Everybody is seeing it on TV and reading it in the newspapers and this itself is a lesson to everybody.”

Nawaz believes his team is up to the challenge of reviving the near-failed economy. He said he would promote a free-market, as he did during two stints as prime minister in the 1990s.

“We are going to pick up the threads from where we left off in 1999,” he said.A major challenge for the next government, analysts say, will be implementing politically difficult economic reforms to secure another bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and avert a balance of payments crisis.

“I’m not someone who is against the IMF. But I am a man who believes that we need to stand on our own feet, that should be our priority,” said Sharif. “But to work with the IMF until such time, I don’t see any harm in that.”Asked what his most daunting task would be if victorious in the polls, he said: “To put the country back on the rails.”

Staff Reporter adds from Lahore: Nawaz Sharif said if voted to power his party will create one million job opportunities for the youth who are the future of the country.
Talking to a delegation of the party youth on Sunday, he said youth can turn destiny of the country through their skills and intelligence and the PML-N is ready to provide them chance to play a vital role in the industrial, trade and other sectors of the national building.

Involving the private sector, the PML-N government will create apprenticeship opportunities for one million youth to equip them with skills and they will be provided loans after completing the training period to start their own business.

He said the PML-N government will also take benefit of the youth to end illiteracy in the society. At the level of union council and district council, seats will be reserved for the youngsters so that they are prepared to play a bigger role at the Assembly level.