WASHINGTON The White House has said that President George W. Bush believes only Pakistanis should decide who they want to lead their country, sending a clear signal that he will not rescue President Pervez Musharraf from an impeachment move.

Further elaborating its position on the dispute between President Musharraf and the PPP-led government, the White House ruled out the possibility of yet another military takeover in Pakistan.

Press Secretary Dana Perino made both the points at a regular briefing during which she also expressed America's desire to 'continue to work with the new government' in Islamabad.

Ms Perino said that President Bush was 'regularly briefed' on the situation in Pakistan and 'he is going to let Pakistanis make the decisions on who will be in the leadership of their country'.

The White House spokesperson also made it clear that a coup was no longer a serious option. 'I haven't heard of a military coup in the cards,' said Ms Perino when asked if the United States would accept yet another military coup in Pakistan.

'I think if they are moving forward on impeachment proceedings, it seems to be within their constitution and that they're following their own laws,' she said, effectively ending speculations that America will accept a peaceful military takeover in Pakistan.

Ms Perino's comments follow reports in the US media that President Musharraf has agreed to step down and is waiting for a US-led effort to arrange an honourable exit from power and a safe stay in Pakistan before announcing his decision.

On Friday, however, the media added a new angle to such reports saying that the Americans were also negotiating another deal which would reduce Mr Musharraf's role to that of a figurehead while allowing him to continue as president.

Interestingly, reports about the impeachment move have not only occupied front pages of mainstream newspapers like The New York Times, Washington Post and Wall Street Journal, but have also figured prominently in local radio and television talk shows.

Quoting sources in the White House, some of these reports claim that the Bush administration has accepted the fact that it's no longer possible to save President Musharraf and is quietly urging him to step down voluntarily rather than prolong the crisis and face impeachment.

According to these reports, the US was keen to see an orderly transition of power, presenting Washington with the opportunity to build close ties with Mr Musharraf's successor.

The Bush administration's interest in maintaining close relations with Pakistan is built around the desire to carry forward cooperation in the war against extremism, the reports said.

Meanwhile, senior US officials are telling reporters that there had been no high-level contact with Mr Musharraf for some time. They said that President Bush's top national security advisers had counselled him 'not to take the call' if Mr Musharraf telephoned but that Mr Bush had not yet communicated a decision on the matter.

The Washington Post reported that the White House was split on how strongly to back Mr Musharraf, especially since the call for his impeachment.

Even Vice-President Dick Cheney, one of Mr Musharraf's principal backers in Washington, is now advising the administration to distance itself from him.

The White House, however, is reluctant to take a public stance on the dispute. 'We continue to monitor the situation,' said Ms Perino. 'We've always said that the issue of who would be in the leadership of Pakistan is going to be up to the Pakistanis.'

She said the White House also had seen reports of President Musharraf's voluntarily exit from the scene but noted that such reports 'go back and forth'.

Asked if the White House could confirm some of the reports about President Musharraf's resignation, she said 'I'll see if there's anything I can do, but right now I think it's just pretty much a rumour mill that goes back and forth.'