Former president Pervez Musharraf has hinted an alliance with Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) and refused a possible patch-up with the Pakistan People's Party and Nawaz Sharif.
"I don't wish to work with those parties who have been tested by the people of Pakistan. People's Party and Nawaz-League have been tested time and again so an alliance with a fresh political force is on cards," the former president said in his interview to an Indian newspaper. He said that he has founded a party to contest general elections in Pakistan, "but a few quarters don't want it. They are putting hurdles in my return to Pakistan."
Musharraf said nuclear-armed India and Pakistan need to "bury the hatchet" and settle their differences to reduce poverty and ease tensions in the region. He added that Kashmir issue is "root cause of disputes", which must be resolved as it provides fuel to extremism in his country.
"It is high time we should open our eyes to reality," said Musharraf, who has lived in exile in Dubai and London since stepping down in 2008. "We need to bury the hatchet."