LAHORE, Dec 31: Deposed prime minister Mian Nawaz Sharif says Gen Pervez Musharraf will remain unconstitutional president even after a confidence vote , as under the Constitution no government employee can become president without winning an election two years after his retirement.

In a statement issued on his behalf by his party, the PML-N, Mr Sharif said the trust vote was an exercise to hoodwink the world that democratic system had been restored. The exiled former prime minister said that the MMA had compromized the national interest by striking a deal with a 'dictator'.

He recalled that Prime Minister Vajpayee had come to Pakistan during the PML-N rule to hold talks on Kashmir and the nuclear programme. The JI, he recalled, had created a scene by breaking windscreens of the vehicles of ambassadors of various Islamic countries.

Without naming Gen Musharraf, the PML-N leader said that then dictator had opposed the visit of the Indian prime minister. But the very same man was now making requests to meet the Indian premier. Regrettably, he said, the MMA leaders were also with him.

MMA cheated nation: The PML-N, accusing the MMA of betraying the nation and harming the democratic struggle by making a deal on the 17th constitutional amendment, said on Wednesday that the religious alliance should let the people know the price it had received from the government in return.

Party's chief organizer Ahsan Iqbal said at a news conference that acceptance of the LFO after a full year of its rejection was a fraud committed by the MMA.

He said the 17th amendment clearly stated that the LFO had been accepted as a part of the constitution, which was a departure from the oft-repeated MMA stand.

He disputed the MMA's assertion that it would not vote for Gen Musharraf in the trust vote on January 1, saying the alliance had already legitimized the presidency of the general by endorsing the referendum. In his opinion, the MMA's reiterations that it would not vote for the general were meaningless.

The PML-N leader said the MMA was left with only two options: apologize to nation for criticizing the policies of Gen Musharraf in the past; and accept that it had betrayed the electorate by voting for the 17th amendment.

Mr Iqbal said his party would continue its struggle for the supremacy of the constitution and parliament. He believed that the new year would be decisive for the struggle. He was critical of the MMA for its claim that the religious alliance would play the role of opposition.

About Prime Minister Jamali's assertion that his government did not believe in politics of vengeance and that deposed prime minister Nawaz Sharif was free to return home, he said the banishment of apolitical family of Mian Shahbaz Sharif was sufficient to belie the claim.

Provincial information secretary Zaeem Qadri said Mr Sharif would certainly come back if his passport was renewed. He claimed that no case was pending against the former prime minister.

He demanded that after making a deal with the government, the MMA was morally bound to vacate the three assembly seats it had "begged" from the PML-N. Mr Iqbal said the Lahore Declaration signed by Pakistan and India in 1999 could still provide the basis to improve bilateral relations between the two nuclear armed rivals.