Gilani has no plans to address nation, says his spokesperson

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Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has no plans to address the nation against the backdrop of an escalation of the row between Pakistan's civilian government and the powerful military over the memo scandal, a spokesperson said today.

The spokesperson for the Prime Minister's House categorically denied reports on TV news channels that Gilani would address the nation tonight.

"There is no decision by the Prime Minister to address the nation," the spokesperson said shortly after Gilani sacked Defence Secretary Lt Gen (retired) Khalid Naeem Lodhi for creating misunderstandings between state institutions over the memo issue.

Gilani acted soon after the military reacted angrily to his remarks that the army and Inter-Services Intelligence chiefs had acted in an 'unconstitutional and illegal' manner while filing replies in the Supreme Court on the alleged memo that had sought US help to stave off a feared military coup after the killing of Osama bin Laden in Pakistan in May last year.