By DPA
Islamabad : Pakistan's Tourism Minister Nilofer Bakhtiar has refused to take back her resignation over a controversial hug despite a request from the Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, media reported Saturday.
"I have not reversed my decision nor will I do so ever," she told BBC's Urdu service.
Bakhtiar decided to quit after severe criticism from religious leaders over her embrace with a French para-jumping instructor in March after a successful jump in Paris to raise funds for victims of the October 2005 earthquake in Pakistan.
Aziz told the reporters Tuesday that he had turned down her resignation, but Bakhtiar has not returned to her office since then.
She told BBC that the ruling party's inability to defend her against her "character assassination by certain circles" was the main reason for the decision.