Pakistani President: Not leaving office

Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari said that leaving office is not an option and that no one has asked him to resign, responding to speculation that the powerful military wanted him to go.  "No one has asked for it yet. If someone does, I'll tell you," Zardari, who appeared in good spirits after medical treatment in Dubai last month, said in a pre-recorded interview with one of the country's most popular television anchors.  When asked in the interview broadcast Saturday if "escape" was an option for him, Zardari replied: "Why should it be?"  The army, which sets security and foreign policies, has asked Pakistani civilian leaders to resign in the past and influenced judicial proceedings against them.  The Pakistani President is facing his biggest political crisis since he took office in 2008 over an unsigned memo to the Pentagon that sought US help in reining in Pakistan's generals, who have ruled the nation for more than half of its history.  Although his position is largely ceremonial, Zardari wields considerable influence as leader of the ruling party and any forced departure would be a humiliation for the civilian leadership and could throw the country into turmoil.  Zardari was elected in 2008 on the back of a sympathy vote after his charismatic wife, former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, was assassinated shortly after returning from self-imposed exile.