Special report: Pakistani Situation    

    ISLAMABAD, June 19 (Xinhua) -- Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf said he would not step down and would continue to play his constitutional role as president "to strengthen democracy in the country," local newspaper Daily Times reported Thursday.

    Musharraf told senior journalists and columnists at the presidential camp office in Rawalpindi on Wednesday that he was a democrat and worked for democracy even when he was in uniform, according to local TV channel DAWN NEWS.

    There was a provision for impeaching the president in the constitution and the parliament had a right to make use of it, said Musharraf.

    He also said Pakistan was facing a severe economic crisis that the new government must tackle on a priority basis.

    However, presidential spokesman Rashid Qureshi denied the meeting, said the Daily Times report.

    The ruling coalition parties Pakistan People's Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) met on Wednesday to discuss the restoration of deposed judges and the impeachment of president. They failed to achieve any consensus on these issues.

    The PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif has been seeking to impeach Musharraf. However PPP Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari said at the meeting that the move to impeach Musharraf should be avoided until a two-thirds majority was attained the parliament.