CAIRO, Oct 13: Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi and state prosecutor Abdel Meguid Mahmud agreed on Saturday that Mahmud would stay, ending a crisis over his refusal to quit after being dismissed, an aide to the prosecutor said.

State television reported that the two met and sealed an agreement under which “the state prosecutor will stay on in his post”, said deputy state prosecutor Adel Said, citing a “misunderstanding over his nomination as ambassador to the Vatican”.

President Morsi on Thursday fired Mr Mahmud, appointing him Egypt’s envoy to the Vatican, but the state prosecutor refused to stand down, saying: “I remain in my post. According to the law, a judicial body cannot be dismissed by an executive authority.”

The president’s bid to remove Mr Mahmud bypassed checks on presidential control of the prosecutor, enraging judges after Mr Morsi also unsuccessfully tried to reverse a court order disbanding the Islamist-dominated parliament.—AFP