Holding former military ruler Gen Pervez Musharraf responsible for the rise of terrorism and extremism in Pakistan, PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif has said the country would have been free from such evils if the democratic process would not have been derailed by the dictator.

"Musharraf's dictatorship ... has been responsible for this ... terrorism, extremism and radicalism. Dictatorships are excellent breeding ground for this kind of activity," Sharif, who was overthrown in a bloodless military coup in 1999 by then army chief Gen Musharraf, said.

"If the (democratic) system was not derailed, I am sure we wouldn't have any such problem like terrorism or these suicide bombings," the two time former premier told ‘Financial Times’ in an interview.

Sharif claimed that Musharraf's nine-year rule has fuelled the growth of terrorism in Pakistan and stressed the need to look into the root cause of terrorism instead of eliminating them by use of force.

"Nobody would ever approve this kind of activity which is going on. We all condemn terrorism. We have also got to go into the causes of terrorism," Sharif said.

"I stand for democracy and I stand for the democratic institutions. I stand for rule of law, my struggle all (the years), since I was deposed, has been for the rule of law," he said.

Referring to the peace deal signed between Pakistan government and pro-Taliban militants in Swat, Sharif said non-military initiatives are needed in the Islamists' strongholds.

"We have got to have a multi-pronged approach and pump maximum resources into the social sector and provide job opportunities to the people who live there. Basically, those who are doing all this are jobless people. They have nothing to do. Therefore, it is very easy for all those people to draw them in to this kind of an activity," he added.

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