Obama pursuing Bush policy with little change: Nawaz

LONDON ( 2009-04-02 10:16:35 ) :US President Barack Obama’s policy to halt the advance of militants in Pakistan differs little from the disastrous one pursued by his predecessor, Nawaz Sharif, PML-N chief, told the Financial Times.

Nawaz Sharif seeks a cross-party approach to fighting militancy Nawaz Sharif, was sharply critical of US policy in Pakistan saying former US president George W Bush had helped promote terrorism by backing military ruler General Pervez Musharraf. He said Bush was against Pakistan’s return to democracy and deaf to advice.

Bush was never keen that Pakistan should get back to the democratic path and provided blind support to Musharraf, Sharif said.

Last week, the US president launched a strategic partnership with Pakistan, offering military and development assistance to help it recover from the menace of a growing insurgency.

He described al Qaeda, the militant group, as a “cancer that risks killing Pakistan from within” and called the border areas with Afghanistan the “most dangerous place in the world”.

“President Obama has now come up with a new policy with little changes, very minor changes as compared to the last policy,” Sharif said. “But I think the consultative process is better than it used to be during Bush’s time,” he added.