As Gilani Government prepares to clip his wings, embattled President Pervez Musharraf on Saturday made it clear that he had no plans to resign or go into exile but indicated that he might quit if Parliament reduced him to a figurehead.

“I am not going to resign. I will remain in Pakistan.... Rumours about my resignations are rubbish,” he said in his first interaction with the media after the new Government was formed in March.

Asked what he would do if the Government clipped his powers or moved to impeach him, Musharraf replied: “I have already said the Parliament is supreme. Whatever Parliament decides will be accepted by me. If I see I have no role and cannot contribute anything to the country, I should not waste my time. It will be better if I play golf and rest. I am not the kind to be lying uselessly around,” the 64-year-old former military ruler told a select group of senior Pakistani journalists, adding he had no plans to leave the country.

But he made it clear that he could not be pressurised to quit. “What I do with myself is my decision then,” he said, adding he was not weak or “afraid of anyone”.

“I know how to confront but I believe in reconciliation,” Musharraf said.

Dismissing speculation that he might use powers under Article 58(2b) to dissolve Parliament and dismiss the Prime Minister, he said, “I haven’t done a single confrontationist act...I believe in forgiving and patching up.”

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