Islamabad: Amidst reports of growing rift between him and President Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan Prime Minister Zafarullah Khan Jamali today (June 26, 2004) tendered his resignation putting at rest speculation that he was on his way out.

"The Prime Minister decided to resign during a meeting with President General Pervez Musharraf in the presence of chief of (the ruling) Pakistan Muslim League Chaudhry Shujat Hussain," unnamed officials were quoted as saying by NNI news agency.

However, there was no confirmation from the Prime Minister's office about this.

Pakistani private channel ARY also reported that Jamali has resigned, but Information Minister Sheikh Rashid declined to comment on the report saying he would react only after the Parliamentary meeting of the Pakistan Muslim League-Q (PML-Q) later this evening.

Without confirming or denying the report, he said "something will happen." 60-year-old soft-spoken Jamali was sworn-in Prime Minister in November 2002, a month after elections were held that formally returned the country to civilian rule, following three years of military dictatorship.

Hussain, the PML-Q chief, is likely to address a press conference to announce the new leader of the House in place of Jamali, who has also convened a meeting of ruling MPs to formally announce the resignation.

Jamali last night refuted reports of his resignation, firmly saying that no one has asked him to resign.