Washington, Sep 10: Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has urged the Bush Administration not to support 'one man' against the wishes of the people of Pakistan."I think the Bush Administration needs to rethink its policy toward Pakistan," said Sharif in an interview to the Newsweek."The US must not equate Pakistan with Musharraf. It will not go down well with 160 million Pakistanis if the US continues to support one man against the people's wishes," he added.Sharif also tried to assuage the Bush Administration's fear that without Musharraf, the fight against extremism would falter."Pakistan must never again allow anyone to use its territory for promoting terrorism," he asserted."It is very painful to read all these things about Pakistan becoming a training ground for terrorists. I'd like to see a forward-looking progressive Pakistan, not a country associated with terror," Sharif said.Addressing the US concern that he is too close to the right-wing religious parties, Sharif said that his coalition includes all the parties: secular and religious, big and small.Sharif blamed Musharraf for the rise of the religious parties in Pakistan, and said that it was Musharraf's policy to sideline the moderate forces in Pakistan in 2002, which created a vacuum for the religious parties to fill.Our agenda is not religious. It's a very noble agenda to help the country get back on the rails of democracy and rid it of military dictatorship," he said.

Sharif also ruled out the possibility of Musharraf continuing as President, and said that even today he is an illegitimate President, because the Constitution does not allow for a man wearing a military uniform to sit in the President's House Commenting on a power-sharing arrangement between Benazir Bhutto and Musharraf, Sharif said that the deal would be bad for Pakistan and democracy.He said that he does not envision any political role for the Pakistani military in future, and added that the army needs to go back to its defence role, back to the barracks and learn that it has no role in politics.Despite his strong opposition to the military rule, Sharif said that he has always had good relations with the army."I've always supported this institution that is being destroyed by its chief who happens to be Musharraf. I think Musharraf should realise that his actions are alienating the army from him. The soldiers don't have a good feeling about what's happening in the country and how Musharraf is handling the affairs of state."