ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — In his first public interview in months, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf on Saturday moved to dispel rumors that he plans to step down amid renewed calls for his resignation.
Musharraf, 64, has faced increasing pressure to resign since his ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Q faction was routed in national parliamentary elections in February, but in a rare televised interview with top Pakistani journalists, Musharraf vowed to remain in the presidency.
“I am not tendering resignation now,” he said in the interview, which was broadcast nationally.
Musharraf broke his lengthy public silence in the wake of recent rumors that he is preparing his last maneuver in a complex political chess game that has threatened to further destabilize Pakistan.
Dressed in a dark blue suit and blue tie with white polka dots, the president appeared relaxed and confident as he denied that he plans to go into exile in Turkey, despite his growing unpopularity.
“I don’t have a house outside of Pakistan, and I don’t want one,” Musharraf said.
Farahatullah Babar, a spokesman for the Pakistan People’s Party, said: “Our thinking is that the people of Pakistan no longer want Musharraf, and it would be best for him to read the political writing on the wall rather than forcing the political parties to move to impeach him. He is a source of political instability.”
But Musharraf is not without his supporters.
Marvi Memon, a newly elected member of parliament, dismissed the suggestion that Musharraf was preparing to resign, saying, “The president is a fighter.”
