KARACHI: Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi on Thursday dismissed rumors that President Asif Ali Zardari is being pushed out of office or that army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir is eyeing the presidency, reiterating that there had been no discussion about such a change.
Media chatter about a possible constitutional amendment to replace President Zardari with someone else, potentially even the army chief, has gained traction in recent days. However, key political figures have swiftly rejected the notion.
“We are fully aware of who is behind the malicious campaign targeting President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, and the Chief of Army Staff,” Naqvi said in a post on X.
“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.”
The president maintains a “strong and respectful” relationship with the military leadership, Naqvi said, adding that the army chief’s “sole focus” was on Pakistan’s strength and stability. He warned those pushing this narrative in coordination with “hostile foreign agencies” to continue as they wished but vowed that the government would do “whatever is necessary to make Pakistan strong again, InshAllah.”
On Tuesday, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) echoed Naqvi’s rebuke, with PPP Secretary General Nayyar Hussain Bukhari calling the rumors “baseless” and noting that the country’s federal government could not function without the PPP’s support.
“Zardari is the duly elected president of this country, and this system cannot function without him,” Bukhari said, dismissing the allegations as “uninformed and misleading.”
Irfan Siddiqui, a close aide to Prime Minister Sharif and a former senator, has also rejected the speculation, saying, “No such suggestion is under consideration at any level.”
