'Of course there is no coup'

Rumours of a coup sparked by the Defence Minister being barred from leaving the country were dismissed on Friday after briefly causing flutters in financial markets. The prospect of political turmoil comes as the United States is stepping up calls on Pakistan to tackle Afghan Taliban in lawless border enclaves, where suspected US drones on Thursday killed 12 fighters, Pakistani security agents said.
Rumours of a coup started, apparently, when Pakistan's ambassador to the United States, Husain Haqqani, told CNN in response to questioning about the defence minister being denied the right to leave that he hoped there would not be a coup. "Of course there is no coup," said President's spokesman Farhatullah Babar, in Islamabad, where life was normal with no sign of any unusual activity in the chilly pre-dawn hours.
"The name of the defence minister happens to be on the list and he was not allowed to go," said Babar, adding he believed Mukhtar had been on his way to China late on Thursday when stopped. The coup rumours swirled briefly in forex markets. The euro hit its lowest since March against the Swiss franc, often considered a safe-haven currency, and the yen surged against the dollar, euro and higher yielding Australian dollar as thin liquidity set a chain reaction in motion. The currencies later recovered the worst of their losses.