Certain quarters trying relentlessly to depose me, says Zardari

Pakistani security personnel stand guard at a state-run junior school after a grenade attack there in Baluchistan province's capital Quetta yesterday. Two teachers and a student were injured when suspected militants hurled a hand grenade at the girls' school. Photo: AFPAni, Islamabad

Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari has himself revealed that certain political quarters in the country are trying relentlessly to depose him from Presidency, and that he has thwarted three such attempts in the past.

Zardari, during an informal off the record talk with a representative delegation of the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ), said that there have been three attempts to dethrone him, but he has been able to defy the nefarious aims of his detractors.

Though his remarks were off the record, it was subsequently leaked to some private television channels, The Nation reports.

Presidential spokesperson Farhatullah Babar, despite repeated attempts, was unavailable for clarifications on Zardari's disclosure.

According to sources, Zardari, during the meeting, vowed to strengthen democracy by bringing major changes in the governance system through major reforms.

Zardari said that he had set a deadline for parliament to do away with Article 58(2)b as well as the controversial clauses of the 17th Amendment by March next year.