Refusing to rule out the imposition of emergency in Pakistan, a senior minister on Thursday said the move had nothing to do with the petition filed by former prime minister Nawaz Sharif seeking his return home from exile.
If emergency is declared in the country, it will have no link with the return of Sharif to Pakistan, Minister of State for Information Tariq Azim said.
"Such an impression is unfounded," he said when asked to comment on speculation that the consideration for imposing emergency was linked to the petition filed by Sharif and his brother Shabaz in the Supreme Court.
Azim, however, admitted that an emergency might have some effects on Sharif's case but said that was something different.
Azim said the government has the authority to declare emergency if the situation so required.
He said the country was facing internal and external threats, and it was a cause for concern for every citizen.
He referred to the recent spate of suicide attacks which had taken the lives of many people including personnel of law enforcing agencies.
Former prime minister Benazir Bhutto has warned the government against imposition of emergency, saying such a move would be detrimental to the nation's interest.
Talking to TV channels from New York, Bhutto said imposition of Emergency would be unwise and could exacerbate the already tenuous situation in the country.
She also called for free and fair elections in order to resolve the political crisis in the country.