Sharif admits Pak hand in 26/11

Sharif, 68, evaded a question on the reason for his ouster from public office and steered the conversation towards foreign policy and national security. He indicated that Pakistan’s policy on terrorism had failed to satisfy the world community.

“We have isolated ourselves. Despite giving sacrifices, our narrative is not being accepted. Afghanistan’s narrative is being accepted, but ours is not. We must look into it,” he said.

In an apparent reference to the military’s meddling in politics and its role in anti-corruption investigations against members of the Sharif family and leaders of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz), the 68-year-old Sharif said: “You can’t run a country if you have two or three parallel governments. This has to stop. There can only be one government: the constitutional one.”

Sharif, whose second term was ended by a coup led by former army chief Pervez Musharraf in 1999, has for long run into trouble with the military for his efforts to normalise relations with India.

In 2016, the PML-N government’s relations with the military establishment soured after Dawn reported that the civilian leadership had told the army of Pakistan’s growing international isolation for failing to act against terror groups such as the LET, Jaish-e-mohammed and Haqqani Network.

Observers believe the row resulted in the army’s efforts to whittle down Sharif’s powers and sideline the PML-N ahead of the polls in 2018.

Sharif denied that his third ouster from office represented a failed approach on his part and suggested he had no regrets or would do anything differently if he returned to public office.

“The Constitution has to be supreme. There is no other way. Look, we put a dictator on trial; it had never been done before,” he said, referring to Musharraf.

Sharif rejected speculation that he would consider a deal if it was offered to him, including another stint in exile for avoid-