Recent comments by PM provoke retaliation in military's battle with civilian rulers
Andrew Buncombe Thursday 12 January 2012
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/pakistan-on-edge-as-army-threatens-government-6288227.html
The dispute between Pakistan's civilian administration and the military has erupted again after the army warned of "grievous consequences" for the country and the Prime Minister sacked the Defence Secretary.
In the latest twist in a dispute that has simmered for months, the army yesterday issued a statement that said recent comments made by Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani had "very serious ramifications with potentially grievous consequences for the country".
The army's stern warning came after an increasingly bold Mr Gilani gave an interview to a Chinese newspaper in which he said the army chief, General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani, and the head of military intelligence, Lt-Gen Ahmed Shuja Pasha, had acted unconstitutionally by giving evidence to a supreme court investigation. He claimed that they should have first sought the government's approval.
The dispute between the army and the government swirls around the ramifications of a memo sent last spring to the US military, allegedly at the behest of President Asif Ali Zardari.
According to a US-Pakistani businessman who said he was asked to act as an intermediary, the note asked for assistance in reining in Pakistan's generals and preventing them from launching a coup in the wake of the the US raid that killed Osama bin Laden.
The fall-out from the so-called "memogate" affair has been extensive. The country's ambassador to the US, Husain Haqqani, was forced to resign after he was accused of involvement, despite his strident denials.
Meanwhile, Pakistan's supreme court has set up an investigatory panel to establish whether the note was sanctioned by Mr Zardari, something that could lead to his possible impeachment.
As part of the inquiry, Mr Kayani and Mr Pasha, along with many others, submitted statements to the court.
As the army issued its statement denouncing Mr Gilani, he announced that he was firing the country's Defence Secretary, Naeem Khalid Lodhi, a retired general who acted as a bridge between the military and the civilian government. Lt-Gen Lodhi was dismissed for what was described as "gross misconduct and illegal action" by submitting the statements of General Kayani and Lt-Gen Pasha to the court. He has been replaced by a bureaucrat close to Mr Gilani.
The memogate controversy underlines the tension that has existed since a civilian government came to office in Pakistan in 2008, constantly jockeying for influence and power alongside the army and an active judiciary headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry. Both Mr Chaudhry and General Kayani are known to have little time for Mr Zardari.
Earlier this week, the supreme court issued a notice saying it could dismiss Mr Gilani if he did not follow an earlier directive to reopen corruption proceedings against the President.