Pak PM not to be sacked

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf has dismissed speculation that he planned to sack Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz in an effort to deflect the public resentment against the suspension of Chief Justice Iftikar M Chaudhry.

As Aziz returned from his high-profile visit to New Delhi after attending the SAARC summit, a Presidential spokesman told reporters that Musharraf never contemplated such a move. "There are some whispers making round in the federal capital about the possible sacking of the prime minister but the presidency simply laughed them off", the spokesman was quoted as saying by The News. "We have not even imagined any such thing," the spokesman said. Information Secretary Anwar Mahmood too dismissed the reports of any political change.

A senior military commander, when contacted, also said that there was no political change in the offing. The clarification from the Presidency was issued as "unconfirmed reports suggested that the presidency is considering a major change in the present political scenario that includes the wrapping up of the Shaukat Aziz government", it said