Pakistan on Edge, Army-PM Faceoff Again

ISLAMABAD (NNN-AGENCIES) -- Political tensions in Pakistan appeared to move close to a flashpoint Wednesday after the army warned Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani that his criticism of the army and ISI would have “grievous consequences”.

Gilani, who seemed willing to take the army head on, responded by sacking Defence Secretary Lt Gen. (retd) Naeem Khalid Lodhi, over memogate.

Late evening, he told reporters that Lodhi, who is considered close to army Chief Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, was guilty of “gross misconduct and illegal action” and had to go.

The government had recently served a show cause notice to Lodhi after he told the Pakistani Supreme Court that the civilian administration had no control over the operational matters of the army and ISI.

Gilani rejected murmurs of a possible military takeover, saying democracy was Pakistan’s “destiny” now. He said Kayani had spoken to him before the army issued its statement earlier in the day.

“There can be no allegation more serious than what the honourable prime minister has levelled against COAS and DG ISI (army chief and spy chief) and has unfortunately charged the officers for violation of the constitution of the country,” the army statement said.

The allegations, it said, had “very serious ramifications with potentially grievous consequences for the country”.

Two days ago, Gilani had told a Chinese state-run portal that Kayani and ISI chief Lt Gen. Ahmed Shuja Pasha had acted in an “unconstitutional and illegal” manner by filing affidavits on the memo issue in the supreme court without the government’s permission.

Kayani met key military aides at the general headquarters, and is expected to meet his corps commanders Friday. The army Thursday brought in a new commander for a Rawalpindi-based unit that has traditionally played a vital role in Pakistan’s military coups.

Analysts have projected three possible scenarios that can emerge now: Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari steps down and announces early elections, a possibility Gilani rejected; the ruling PPP replaces Gilani as prime minister; or Kayani leads a military takeover.

Gilani’s government is already on a collision course with the supreme court, which warned that action could be taken against both Zardari and him for failing to act on a court order to reopen corruption cases against the president.

Meanwhile, Zardari on Thursday departed on a one-day private visit to Dubai amidst a standoff between the civilian government and the powerful military on the memo scandal.

News of Zardari's departure was flashed this afternoon by TV news channels. There was no immediate word on the visit from the presidency.

Sources told PTI that Zardari was expected to attend a wedding in Dubai, where he has a private residence.

Several senior government officials are also expected to attend the same wedding.

This is Zardari's second visit to Dubai since the memo issue triggered a confrontation between the government and the military.

He travelled to Dubai on Dec 6 and remained there for nearly a fortnight for treatment of a heart condition.

That trip had triggered rampant speculation that Zardari was under pressure from the military to step down.

Since then, Zardari has made it clear that he has no intention of quitting as president.

The current political crisis began when Pakistani- American businessman Mansoor Ijaz made public an alleged memo that sought US help to prevent a military coup after the killing of Osama bin Laden in Pakistan in May last year.

The government has dismissed the memo as a "piece of paper" and said the president and prime minister played no role in drafting or delivering it to former US military chief Admiral Mike Mullen.

The army and ISI chiefs urged the Supreme Court to order an investigation into the scandal. The apex court formed a three-judge commission to investigate the memo issue and submit its findings in four weeks. -- NNN-AGENCIES