Ex-premier Nawaz Sharif has rebuffed a senior U.S. official for saying that Pakistan should focus on food prices and militancy rather than the fate of President Pervez Musharraf.

Sharif told reporters Thursday that what Pakistan does with its “unconstitutional president” is an internal affair and it does not need “external consultation” on the matter.

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher said Wednesday during a visit to Pakistan that its pressing problems were soaring food prices, electricity shortages and Islamic militancy.

Musharraf toppled Sharif as prime minister in a 1999 coup. Sharif’s party is in Pakistan’s new coalition government and is demanding the U.S.-backed president’s ouster.