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`Gilani didn't seek Britain's help to avert coup'
IANS
Last Updated IST
Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani. File Photo
Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani. File Photo

Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani did not seek Britain's help to prevent a military take-over in Pakistan, authorities said.

A spokesman of the Prime Minister House Friday denied a news report which claimed that Gilani had telephoned the British high commissioner for his help to avert a coup.

Coup rumours have swirled in the country ever since a secret memo to Washington came to light last year that said President Asif Ali Zardari had feared an army take-over after Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden was killed in Abbottabad, near Islamabad, May 2 last year.

Zardari's abrupt departure to Dubai in December last year as well as the lingering stand-off between the political leadership and the powerful army have fuelled rumours of a coup.

A statement from the Prime Minister’s House mentioned a news report by a foreign news agency that Gilani spoke to British High Commissioner Adam Thomson last week seeking the British help to pre-empt the coup, reported Associated Press of Pakistan.

The spokesman said: “The prime minister has not spoken to the British high commissioner in this regard and the story is totally unfounded.”

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(Published 14 January 2012, 12:49 IST)