``The army is an important organ of the state and there is complete harmony and cohesion between the army and the government,'' the titular head of state told reporters in the northwestern regional capital of Peshawar.

He was speaking after the army chief, general Pervez Musharraf, on Thursday denied the existence of any row with the government following official US expressions of concern over a possible military take over of power in Pakistan.

``We hope there will be no return to the days of interrupted democracy in Pakistan,'' a senior official told Reuters in an interview in Washington. ``We would strongly oppose any attempt to change the government through extra-constitutional means.''

Tarar said speculation of a possible coup, which surfaced in major Pakistani cities, should stop. He accused``disappointed elements'' of spreading the rumours and of ``relying'' on foreign news agencies to spread propaganda. ``After categorical statements by responsible officials from the two sides, speculation of differences between the two have no basis,'' Tarar said.

Nineteen Pakistani opposition parties have rallied behind a single-point agenda to get Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to step down because of his handling of economic affairs and the dispute with arch-rival India over Kashmir.

They have called for the setting up of an interim government to purge the establishment of vested interests and to hold fresh elections under a new electoral commission. The plan would require army backing to succeed, diplomats said.

Opposition leaders have rejected an offer for talks by Sharif terming it as a ploy to divide their alliance as well as to give his government a new lease of life in the wake of a countrywide anti-government movement by their parties. "Time for talks is over and now the matter will be decided onthe battlefield," Asfandyar Wali, chief of the Awami National Party (ANP) and prominent Pathan leader said on Saturday, referring to Sharif's offer.