Govt may ask Gen Kayani to broker a deal with Musharraf if fails to resign by Monday

Islamabad, Aug 16 : The PPP-led coalition government is Islamabad has said that it would wait for the next 48 hours for President Pervez Musharrf to resign, else it would ask Army Chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani to intervene and broker a deal with the President.

Last evening, a senior PPP leader said that the Government will wait till Monday morning for Musharraf to step-down, otherwise the ongoing political crisis would deepen even further.

"If he continues to stick to his position and does not resign, it will create a situation leaving the government with no option but to ask the army chief to intervene and help resolve the political crisis," the Daily Times quoted the unidentified PPP leader as saying.

Another source also confirmed that the PPP-led coalition was likely to approach Gen Kayani to negotiate a deal between Musharraf and the four-party ruling coalition to end the political impasse in the country. "General Kayani will be asked to intervene, if the president does not show flexibility," the source said.

It has also been learnt that Musharraf is not ready to accept any thing less than an 'honourable' stay in Pakistan with full presidential protocol and benefits with legal cover to his actions in case of his resignation.

Though the coalition enjoys comfortable numerical strength to oust the President through impeachment, efforts are being made that he resigns before the initiation of the impeachment process. These sources also believe that Musharraf's is banking on the Army and his foreign friends, especially the US and the UK. "The President is confident that they will not let him down to face a humiliating ouster at the hands of the political parties," said the sources.

Meanwhile, Presidential Spokesman Rashid Qureshi denied the President intended to resign in the next few days. "The recent spate of news reports and rumours being spread that President Pervez Musharraf is resigning are totally baseless and malicious," he said and added that such "unsubstantiated reports" were hurting Pakistan's economy.

ANI