Earlier reports suggesting that President Asif Ali Zardari was asked to step down and that Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Field Marshal Asim Munir intended to assume the presidency have been dismissed as "mere speculation" by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

 

Speaking to The News, PM Shehbaz clarified that there was no truth to the reports circulating in the media.

 

Media reports suggest that it all started with a couple of journalists “revealing” on social media that a plan was underway to remove Zardari from the Presidency for allegedly leaking the specific meeting conversation regarding the plan to build new Canals from the Indus River.

 

Others claim the rumours began circulating after the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) obtained a simple majority in the National Assembly (NA) after the reinstatement of reserved seats by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) following the top court’s Constitutional Bench verdict.

 

“Field Marshal Asim Munir has never expressed any desire to become the president, nor is there any such plan in the offing,” The News quoted the premier as saying.

 

He emphasised that the trio of President Zardari, Field Marshal Asim Munir, and himself share a relationship built on mutual respect and a common goal, the progress and prosperity of Pakistan.

 

This comes days after Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi had also firmly rebuffed such rumours.

 
In a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Thursday, Naqi wrote that “we are fully aware” of who is behind the “malicious campaign” targeting the president, the premier and the army chief.

 
“I have categorically stated that there has been no discussion, nor does any such idea exist, about the President being asked to resign or the COAS aspiring to assume the presidency,” he clarified.

 
Naqvi underscored that the President enjoys a strong and respectful relationship with the Armed Forces’ leadership. “I know who is spreading these falsehoods, why they are doing so, and who stands to benefit from this propaganda,” he quoted Zardari as saying. 

 
The interior minister emphasised that the sole focus of the COAS is the strength and stability of Pakistan, “nothing else”.

 
“To those involved in this narrative, do whatever you wish in collaboration with hostile foreign agencies. As for us, we will do whatever is necessary to make Pakistan strong again, InshAllah (sic),” he said.