Army supports democracy, Kayani tells Zardari

Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Kayani on Tuesday held an important meeting with President Asif Ali Zardari amidst speculation of uneasy ties between the country’s civilian rulers and the military establishment, telling the president that the army wanted to strengthen the democratic system in the country. An official seeking anonymity said apart from other issues, the vital matter of an alleged “memo” being linked to the presidency and sent to senior most military official in Washington in a bid to seek help of Washington against possible military coup in Pakistan was also discussed during the meeting between the president and army chief.
“General Kayani observed during the meeting that the armed forces wanted to strengthen the democratic order in the country, but he also expressed the resentment among the military cadres over such reports,” the source said. The three service chiefs, including General Kayani and Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee General Khalid Shameem Wynne, were not among the guests invited to a reception hosted by President Zardari in the honor of Turkmen President Gurbangul Berdymukhammedov at the Presidency on Monday.
Although the ISPR denied that the top brass of army avoided participation in the reception, saying that army chief did not get an invitation and General Wynne was abroad, their absence triggered speculation about the strained relations between Islamabad and Rawalpindi. “Current security situation and professional matters pertaining to Pakistan Army were discussed during the meeting,” said a brief official statement issued from presidency after the meeting.
In a related significant development, US Ambassador Cameron Munter also called on President Zardari a couple of hours after the crucial meeting between the president and army chief. Officials said the purpose of US ambassador’s meeting was to have an idea of what transpired in the hour-long meeting between the president and General Kayani, as the US is keenly monitoring the situation in Islamabad as reports emanate rom Pakistani capital about the relations getting tense between the civilian government and the army. The meetings at the Presidency are being dubbed important owing to the ongoing controversy in Islamabad over the alleged memo sent by President Zardari to a senior military official in Washington seeking US help to counter any possible coup by the army. President Zardari was quoted as telling t he army chief that the government acknowledged the support of army leadership to the democratic process in the country. The source said the president also deplored the reports about alleged secret communication between presidency and Washington and said efforts to malign the armed forces and civilian rulers would not be allowed to succeed. Meanwhile, diplomatic sources said speculations were once again rife in the Islamabad’s diplomatic community about the possible resignation of Pakistani ambassador to US Hussain Haqqani, who was directed by the government on Monday to report to Islamabad and brief the authorities on various aspects of Pakistan-United States relations with focus on current stalemate in the ties between Islamabad and Washington. “The main reason behind the speculation and rumors about ambassador Haqqani’s resignation is because of the displeasure in the ranks of military leaders over his alleged role in the memo episode,” the source said