President Pervez Musharraf, who is under mounting pressure to resign, called on Thursday for political stability and reconciliation to tackle economic and security problems. Musharraf, speaking in a televised Independence Day address, did not refer to a plan to impeach him drawn up by a coalition government.
"If we want to put our economy on the right track and fight terrorism then we need political stability. Unless we bring political stability, I think we can't fight them properly," Musharraf said. "Political stability, in my view, can only be brought through a reconciliation approach as opposed to confrontation," he said. "This is the need of the hour."
Musharraf has been at the centre of a political crisis since early last year that has raised fears among the United States and its allies for the stability of the nuclear-armed Muslim country, which is also a hiding place for al Qaeda leaders.
Speculation has been rife that Musharraf, who seized power in a 1999 coup, would quit rather than face impeachment. A growing number of politicians across the country, including some old allies, have been calling on him to face a vote of confidence or be impeached.
The prospect of a showdown is unnerving investors, with the rupee setting a new low of around 75.05/15 to the dollar and stocks hovering near two-year lows. Security worries are compounding the gloom. Musharraf spoke just after midnight, when Pakistan marked the anniversary of its creation in 1947 upon the partition of British-ruled India.
Shortly before noisy celebrations began across the country, a suicide bomb attack on police killed at least six people in the eastern city of Lahore, police said.