LONDON, June 9: Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and Imran Khan are returning home, the former on Tuesday and the latter on Monday night, to take part in the long march being organised by the bar and the bench for restoration of the deposed judges.

The two leaders told the press after an hour-long meeting here on Monday that it was the responsibility of the entire nation to join the campaign for the restoration of the judges deposed illegally and unconstitutionally by Pervez Musharraf on November 3 last year.

Nawaz who is here to be with his ailing wife and Imran who normally spends the summer in the UK with his two sons seem to have cut short their stay to be in Pakistan for the long march.

Nawaz meaningfully kept quite when Imran bitterly attacked PPP leader Asif Ali Zardari for what he said providing protection to Musharraf, while at the same time, blocking restoration of the judges to protect the NRO.

Nawaz said his party had no plans to withdraw from the coalition as that would allow the forces opposed to democracy led by Musharraf to once again start playing their tricks.

But, he said, his party had been exhorting the PPP to fulfil the mandate of February 18 by restoring the judges and getting rid of Musharraf.

Imran said that although his party had a number of disagreements with the PML-N but “we are bound by a common objective which was restoration of the judiciary and ouster of Musharraf”.

Imran criticised US president George Bush for helping to sustain Musharraf in the presidency while Nawaz said he was at a loss to see how a nation which had been promoting democracy in Iraq and Afghanistan was supporting dictatorship in Pakistan.

The two said they expected the next administration in the US to help the forces of democracy in Pakistan and refrain from encouraging dictators.

Imran said if the ruling coalition had not started talks with the border tribes, Pakistan would have by now gone up in smoke. “The Nato should not pass its failure to control militancy in Afghanistan on Pakistan. They need to win minds and hearts which they cannot as long as they remain in occupation. Without talks the so-called war on terror would never end.”