Former Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif will not return to the country before the general elections, President Pervez Musharraf [Images] has said.

The president exuded confidence that the ruling Pakistan Muslim League will return to power, saying the next prime minister will be from the PML.

Musharraf was addressing about 170 legislators of the party, including federal ministers, at a dinner at the prime minister's House.

He denied reports that the local bodies would be dissolved before the polls on the demand of certain parties.

Speaking about the reconciliation process, Musharraf said that it had been initiated to end the 'tug of war' between political parties and it was proceeding well.

The president asserted that foreign experts will not be involved in the investigation of the October 18 blasts in Karachi, which claimed 165 lives.

''Our own experts are competent enough to undertake this task and they have done it in the past,'' said Musharraf. He also denied that foreign troops would be allowed to operate from Pakistan's tribal areas to take on the terrorists.

Meanwhile, exiled PML-N leader Shahbaz Sharif, in a statement, said general elections, without party chief and his brother Nawaz Sharif, would merely be 'a stage drama'.

According to a statement, the PML-N leader, addressing a seminar at the British House of Lords, urged western countries and the European Union to ensure free and fair elections in Pakistan.

He said the West was not helping the cause of democracy by supporting a dictatorial regime in Pakistan. He called for promoting democratic forces and political parties to restore democracy in the country.