Amidst political turmoil in Pakistan, former prime minister Nawaz Sharif [ Images ] on Wednesday dismissed reports of an army takeover of the troubled country once again.

Sharif, who has urged the masses to defy a government clampdown and join a nationwide protest, said the "chances of army takeover is absolutely nil".

Army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani [ Images ] met with Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani [ Images ], according to a press release from the premier's office. It gave no details of their discussion.

The meeting comes at a time when President Asif Ali Zardari [ Images ] was on a visit to Iran.

In 1999, then army chief General Pervez Musharraf [ Images ] seized the power from premier Sharif in a bloodless coup.

Despite a crackdown on the Pakistan Muslim League (N) workers and lawyers, a defiant Sharif told CNN-IBN news channel that his party will go ahead with its long march.

Asked if the deepening political crisis will open the door for the US to intervene, Sharif said: "there is absolutely no need for international intervention and we are capable of restoring order in our house."