International   

Musharraf spikes resignation rumours

ISLAMABAD: After a day of widespread rumours and high speculation about his resignation, President Pervez Musharraf said late on Thursday that those behind such reports were out to damage Pakistan.

Reacting to reports of a meeting between him and Army chief Ashfaq Parvez Kayani on Wednesday evening, the retired General Musharraf said “some elements” were trying to create tensions between him and the Army.

Speaking at a farewell dinner of the former Governor of Punjab, Lt. Gen. Khalid Maqbool, Gen. Musharraf said this was his sixth meeting with Gen. Kayani, and described it as “nothing more than routine.”

The meeting, which The News said continued past midnight and lasted over three hours, sparked rumours that President Musharraf, who is under tremendous political pressure to call it a day, had stepped down.

Referring to the wiping out of billions from the Karachi Stock Exchange on account of the political uncertainty, Gen. Musharraf said the rumours affected the business and investment climate.

“The rumours are a campaign to damage the country,” he said, adding his effort was to create an atmosphere of reconciliation.

Gen. Musharraf described his relations with Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gillani, who was also present at the dinner, as cordial. “We work closely with each other.”

The Army chief and other services chiefs were also present.

Earlier in the day, a reported meeting between Gen. Musharraf and his close advisers and friends also fuelled the rumours of his resignation, and his spokesman had to step in to deny them.

Major-general (retd.) Rashif Qureshi told Pakistan Television that media reports of the resignation were “concocted” and “defamatory.”

The Pakistan People’s Party denied reports that its leader Asif Ali Zardari had sent a message to the President through an adviser and friend, the former National Security Council secretary Tariq Aziz, asking him to step down or face impeachment.

Separately, the military spokesman denied the report suggesting that the appointment of a new commander of 111 Brigade, which had played the key role in Pakistan’s military coups, was a message from the Army to President Musharraf that it would not come to his aid if he wanted to use it against the elected government.

Confirming that Brigadier Asim Bajawa had been replaced, Inter-Services Public Relations spokesman Major-General Athar Abbas said the change was part of a “bulk posting order” that included 478 other brigadiers and colonels, and that the order had been issued a month ago.

President Musharraf appointed Brig. Bajawa, who once served as his military secretary, to head the sensitive brigade last year, days before he stepped down as the Army chief. Brig. Fahim Rao has now taken over its command.

The spokesman also denied reports that Gen. Musharraf’s security commandos had been replaced. “The relief and rotation of the Army unit detailed for the guard duties with the President is a routine matter, which is planned at least six months in advance.”

Meanwhile, PPP chairman Asif Ali Zardari, who last week described Gen. Musharraf as a “relic of the past,” reiterated at a party function that he stood for “transition through dialogue.”

“There is a time for political struggle and agitation, and there is a time for patience. This is the time for a dialogue,” he said. “But dialogue does not mean we accept the status quo,” he said, appearing to hint at the hope he expressed earlier that Gen. Musharraf would “walk away.”

Mr. Gillani also said the government wanted reconciliation and not confrontation.

But the PPP is also facing the growing demand that President Musharraf be not given a “safe passage.” On Thursday, Supreme Court Bar Association president Aitizaz Ahsan, who is also a member of the PPP, threw his weight behind the call by Pakistan Muslim League (N) leader Nawaz Sharif that Gen. Musharraf be tried for treason.

The lawyers have announced a “long march” from June 10 to press for reinstatement of judges sacked by President Musharraf last year. Mr. Sharif has said he will join them if the PPP-led government does not restore them by then.

The PML(N) withdrew from the Cabinet earlier this month following the government’s failure to reinstate the judges by the self-imposed deadline of May 12.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Deal on cluster bombs ban
Bolton accused of war crimes in Iraq
It was tense countdown to birth of republican Nepal
Musharraf spikes resignation rumours
Fighting intensifies in Jaffna
Now for snow-robots
Mars-lander begins probe

Copyright © 2008, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu