Home | Country | Pakistan | Islamabad
Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf angrily rebuffed rumours sweeping across the country Sunday ranging from his government being toppled in a coup to his heart surgery in the United States. "Pakistan is not a banana republic and rumours about overthrowing of the Pakistan government is (a) nonsense, total nonsense," Musharraf said in New York late Sunday, the News International quoted him as saying. The president was reacting to rumours of a coup and dissolution of the parliament and provincial assemblies triggered across Pakistan Sunday following a nationwide power breakdown. The rumours were so widespread it compelled Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and his ministers to counter them by going to meet people on the streets. It all began from the US, where Musharraf departed from his known itinerary to make a trip to a small town near Texas for what he later described as a "mild" check-up. It spurred rumours that Musharraf had undergone "a heart surgery". His check-up visit had been kept a secret, ostensibly for security reasons. Reports said the township, of 50,000-odd inhabitants, was surprised by the huge security paraphernalia accompanying Musharraf. Pakistan's envoy to the US, Lt. Gen. Durrani told the media that the doctor-host had declared Musharraf as "fit as a horse". However, the rumours refused to die down. Rafique Tarar, a former president, was the unwitting "beneficiary" of the rumours. "So much so that political workers of a party congratulated former president Rafique Tarar as if he had resumed the charge of presidency," said The Nation newspaper in a report from Lahore. "The buzz was that a coup had taken place, assemblies were dissolved and a new general had taken over in Islamabad." The rumours were so strong that they shook the government, forcing Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz to call an emergency press conference to clear the haze. Paying a visit to a local Sunday bazaar, a visibly chagrined Aziz told a reporter that his question about a change of government did not warrant an answer. "Why do you ask about something that hasn't occurred at all?" Dawn newspaper quoted Aziz as telling the scribe. Instead of issuing a direct denial, the government released the latest footage of the president's visit to the United States, showing Musharraf in fine fettle. The newspaper offices were the most sought after places on Sunday with people, friends and relatives making calls to check out as to what had happened. The rumours generated a lot of gossip in political circles and drawing rooms, affecting everybody in the country - from well-connected politicians to the man on the street, The News International newspaper said. Pakistanis living abroad telephoned back home or to friends to find out what had happened. Pakistan has known abrupt government changes in the past. So, the report said, there was speculation about 'unusual' army movement, of ministers and politicians "going into hiding". The newspaper quoted an unnamed opposition parliamentarian saying: "The way people reacted, as if they heaved a sigh of relief, showed how unpopular the present government is." Reports emanating from France about Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden's supposed death also fuelled the rumours. "What remains a mystery for most people, especially the political class, is what motivated the rumour mongers and what was behind the entire gossip," the newspaper said.
Article Source: http://www.share.onlypunjab.com
Please Rate this Article
5 out of 54 out of 53 out of 52 out of 51 out of 5
Not yet Rated
