Islamabad: President Pervez Musharraf, under pressure to step down before he is impeached, will address Pakistan at 1300 hrs PST on Monday, an official in the President's office told Reuters.
Speculation that the former army chief and firm US ally will resign has been mounting since the coalition government, led by PPP - the party of assassinated former prime minister Benazir Bhutto - said this month it planned to impeach him.
The official in the president's office gave no details of Musharraf's address, but his Chief Spokesman, retired Major General Rashid Qureshi, was quoted separately as again denying that Musharraf would resign or leave the country.
"President Musharraf is not going to Saudi Arabia or any other country and he will fight impeachment constitutionally," Dawn Television cited Qureshi as saying.
The ruling coalition has prepared impeachment charges against Musharraf focusing on violation of the Constitution and misconduct. Coalition officials have been hoping Musharraf would quit to avoid impeachment while some allies have said he should at least answer charges brought against him before stepping down.
Officials from Saudi Arabia, as well as the United States and Britain, have been involved in negotiations aimed at ending the confrontation between Musharraf and the government.
Coalition officials said last week Musharraf was ready to quit but was demanding immunity from prosecution. All four provincial assemblies have passed resolutions in recent days pressing him to resign and several old allies have joined the campaign against him.
Prolonged jockeying and uncertainty over Musharraf's position has hurt Pakistan's financial markets and raised concern in Washington and among other allies that it is distracting from efforts to control violent militants in the nuclear-armed nation.
Pakistani stocks are near two-year lows, while its currency has lost nearly a quarter of its value this year. The political battling over Musharraf's fate has sapped investor confidence and there has been criticism it has taken government attention away from economic problems.
Pakistan also faces major fiscal problems, with Saudi Arabia's help critical to defer an estimated $5.9 billion worth of oil payments.
Musharraf seized power in a 1999 coup but has been isolated since his allies lost a February election.
However, Musharraf's once-considerable power has eroded significantly since parties opposed to his rule swept the parliamentary elections this year.
Since last week, the new ruling coalition has been taking steps to force Musharraf to step down or face impeachment.
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