Musharraf defends Sharif exile

The Pakistani military leader, Pervez Musharraf, has defended his decision to send the former prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, into exile.

In a nationwide broadcast, General Musharraf said he believed his decision would lead to a new political culture, free of hatred, hostility and corruption; it was up to the Pakistani people to judge whether he had acted in the country's best interests.

Nawaz Sharif agreed to go to Saudi Arabia earlier this month, in return for a pardon cancelling a life sentence for alleged corruption while he was prime minister.

The BBC Islamabad Correspondent says there were widespread criticism of the move, with many observers saying it made a mockery of the military government's committment against political corruption.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service