Time for another Coup d'ñÕat ?

[Clarke]

Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani fired his defense secretary Wednesday just hours after the nation's military warned that Mr. Gilani's recent attacks on the army chief could have "grievous consequences." Mr. Gilani, in recent weeks, has taken an unusually strident tone against the army, which has ruled Pakistan for half its 65-year history and maintains a powerful role. Last month, Mr. Gilani told a meeting he was worried about a potential conspiracy to unseat his government and warned the military to remember that it is governed by civilian institutions. The increasing tensions risk destabilizing Pakistan and causing policy paralysis at a time when the U.S. is hoping for the country's support as it attempts to deepen peace talks with the Taliban and wind down the war in Afghanistan. Mr. Gilani has been angered by allegations which surfaced in the fall that his government asked for Washington's help to forestall a coup in May after the covert U.S. raid that killed Osama bin Laden. That raid, on a Pakistan garrison town and without forewarning the Pakistanis, deeply embarrassed the military. Pakistan's Supreme Court is conducting an investigation into the allegations. The ruling Pakistan People's Party denies involvement and says the probe is politically motivated. It has blamed the court for siding with the military in an attempt to destabilize the government. The army has backed the probe. Mr. Gilani upped his attack on the army this week, giving an interview to China's official People's Daily Online, in which he claimed that army chief Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and head of the Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate spy agency Ahmed Shuja Pasha had acted unconstitutionally in responding through written answers to the court's questions. The statement was engineered to embarrass Gen. Kayani, who was on a six-day visit to China, which ended Tuesday. The army responded with a news release Wednesday which denied the army had submitted its responses directly to the Supreme Court, as charged by Mr. Gilani, but had instead gone through the Defense Ministry, as required by the constitution. "This has very serious ramifications with potentially grievous consequences for the country," the army said of Mr. Gilani's assertions. It did not elaborate what the consequences could be. The statement set off discussion in Pakistan's media of a potential military takeover. But the government showed few signs of stepping back from a fight. Immediately following the release, Mr. Gilani's office announced the government was firing Naeem Khalid Lodhi, a retired army general who was the country's top defense bureaucrat, for misconduct. A Pakistani official said Mr. Gilani believed Mr. Lodhi had worked to help the military increase pressure on the civilian government. Mr. Gilani replaced Mr. Lodhi with Nargis Sethi, a career bureaucrat who is also currently cabinet secretary and viewed as close to the prime minister. The heightened tensions come after Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari, who co-chairs the PPP, went to Dubai for emergency medical treatment in December after suffering a mini-stroke. That visit sparked rumors he was going into exile to flee the Supreme Court's probe. That proved untrue, and Mr. Zardari returned to Pakistan in late December. The PPP-led administration, which came to power in 2008, has balanced the military by giving it wide powers to run foreign policy and defense. This strategy, until now, has kept the government in power, but recent tensions show this arrangement is coming under stress. Mr. Zardari also has faced a hostile Supreme Court, which has become a third center of aspirant executive power in the country after the civilian government and the military. On Tuesday, the Supreme Court warned Mr. Gilani, the prime minister, that he could be removed from office if he refuses to take action against Mr. Zardari over corruption charges. The court in 2009 ruled to throw out an amnesty on corruption investigations that had shielded Mr. Zardari from investigation. Mr. Zardari spent 11 years in a Pakistan jail for alleged corruption but was never formally convicted of a crime. Mr. Zardari, the widower of Benazir Bhutto, the former Pakistan prime minister who was assassinated in 2007, says the charges dating to the 1990s were politically motivated. The government has refused to open a corruption investigation, citing the president's immunity from prosecution. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204257504577154530050007246.html

[1983-2011]

Kayani contacted before passing statement: Gilani 2N6r2bs1JfU Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani has said that Army Chief General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani contacted him before the issuance of military reaction by ISPR, report said. "We have always stood by the army and we have nothing against anyone," the Prime Minister said while talking to media here. As regards his statement during an interview to a Chinese newspaper on the replies submitted by the Army Chief and DG ISI in memogate case, the Prime Minister said under the rules of business the replies should have been sent through the Ministry of Defence to the Ministry of Law and Justice and then to the Attorney General of Pakistan. The Prime Minister said his interview in China was pre-scheduled and when the interview was done General Kayani had landed in Pakistan. http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/islamabad/11-Jan-2012/coas-contacted-me-before-ispr-statement-gilani