Islamabad: Amid a looming confrontation
between the Supreme Court and the government, Pakistan
President Asif Ali Zardari on Wednesday made it clear that he did not
intend to resign even as an urgent session of parliament has
been called to consider the situation.
Zardari through his spokesman refuted reports that he had
offered to resign at a meeting of his Pakistan Peoples Party
(PPP) and its allies late last night.
"Neither in the allies' meeting on Tuesday night nor at
any other stage has the President offered to resign and the
reports suggesting otherwise are contrary to the facts and
reality of the situation," presidential spokesman Farhatullah
Babar said in a brief statement.
"There is no truth in these reports," Babar said while
reacting to reports in a section of the media that said
Zardari had offered to resign during the meeting jointly
chaired by Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani at
the presidency.
At the meeting, the ruling coalition leaders decided to
call an urgent session of parliament tomorrow in the wake of a
warning from the Supreme Court that action could be taken
against Zardari and Gilani for failing to reopen high-profile
corruption cases.
The Supreme Court had warned yesterday that action could
be taken against both the President and Prime Minister for
failing to act on a court order to reopen corruption cases
that were closed under a graft amnesty issued by former
military ruler Pervez Musharraf in 2007.
PTI
First Published: Wednesday, January 11, 2012, 13:16