PM rejects speculations about COAS eyeing presidency

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has firmly rejected rumours suggesting that President Asif Ali Zardari may be asked to step down or that Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Field Marshal Asim Munir harbours any political ambitions to assume the presidency.

In an interview with The News, the premier termed such claims as “baseless speculation,” assuring that there is no truth to the reports circulating in some media circles.

“Field Marshal Asim Munir has never expressed any interest in becoming the president, nor is there any such plan under consideration,” said the prime minister.

He emphasized that his working relationship with President Zardari and COAS Asim Munir is built on mutual trust and a shared commitment to Pakistan’s progress and stability.

His remarks come in the wake of a strong statement by Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, who condemned what he described as a “malicious campaign” targeting the country’s top leadership.

Posting on his official X (formerly Twitter) account, Naqvi said that such propaganda was aimed at creating divisions and instability.

“The President of Pakistan shares a respectful and strong bond with the military leadership,” Naqvi added, quoting President Zardari as saying, “I know exactly who is behind these lies, why they are spreading them, and who stands to gain.”

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The rumours gained traction following reports that President Zardari might be ousted and that a new constitutional amendment was being drafted.

Speculation intensified after the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) secured a simple majority in the National Assembly following the restoration of reserved seats, as per the Supreme Court’s Constitutional Bench ruling. This development increased the ruling coalition’s strength from 218 to 235 seats, giving them a two-thirds majority.

Senior PPP figures, including Senate Chairman and former Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani and PPP Secretary General Nayyar Hussain Bukhari, have strongly denied the possibility of Zardari’s removal. They termed the reports entirely unfounded and politically motivated.