Army and intelligence chiefs met with the Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani on Tuesday, PTV reported. Tensions are running high over a mysterious memo, allegedly drafted on the direction of the former ambassador to Washington, Husain Haqqani which asked for US help in reining in the military.
Army Chief General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani, DG ISI Lieutenant General Ahmad Shuja Pasha and Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar called on Prime Minister and discussed in detail the regional security situation. The Prime Minister asked the Foreign Minister to undertake a visit to Afghanistan.
In the meeting, the ongoing reconciliation process in Afghanistan also came under discussion keeping in view the stability and security of the region. President Asif Ali Zardari is currently on a two-day state visit to Myanmar. State television gave scant details on the high-powered meeting, which also included the foreign minister Hina Rabbani Khar, saying only regional security, especially the situation in Afghan-istan, was discussed.
When an American businessman revealed his role in writing and delivering the memo late last year, the army was enraged. Haqqani was forced to resign, and "memogate" has locked Zardari and the military in trenched warfare ever since. Pakistan's Supreme Court last week adjourned a contempt hearing for Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani in a case that could push him from office and is adding to growing pressure on the unpopular civilian government.
The military, despite being officially under civilian control, sets foreign and security policies and drew rare public criticism after US special forces killed al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden on Pakistani soil in a raid in May 2011, an act seen by many Pakistanis as a violation of sovereignty. The latest crisis, which has raised fears of further instability troubles Washington. The United States wants smooth ties between civilian and military leaders so that Pakistan can help efforts to stabilise neighbouring Afghanistan, a top priority for President Barack Obama.
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