Pakistan senator S M Zaffar, who negotiated with the Islamist alliance Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal to work out a compromise to end the political deadlock over constitutional amendments, on Saturday night denied President Pervez Musharraf had agreed to quit as army chief.

Contradicting reports carried by some TV networks, Zaffar was quoted as saying by the official APP news agency that "the president, in the past, had stated time and again that in principle he should not hold two offices simultaneously, but had said that he would take a decision in this regard at an appropriate time".

Zaffar said the constitutional consultative committee formed as a result of talks held on Saturday was only a recommendatory body and had not taken any major decision.

A committee of second rung leaders of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League (Quaid-e-Azam) and the MMA, which held several rounds of talks to defuse the crisis, had reached a broad understanding to table the amendments, known as Legal Framework Order, in the national assembly after necessary modifications.

It said amendments would be presented to parliament soon after a meeting of all parties to be convened by Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali. "Both the sides termed the outcome of the dialogue as a step towards a resolution of the problem," APP said.