Kayani cautions govt against military’s mockery

With Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Ashfaq Kayani making it clear on Saturday that speculations about a military takeover were out of place and the prime minister subsequently welcoming the statement, tensions between the two sides has seemingly started decreasing, with some intermediaries chipping in for a truce to avoid any confrontation between Islamabad and Rawalpindi.
The message the military leadership passed on to the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leadership through the mediators is to exercise restraint and not target the army if the government wants to diffuse the situation. Whether the message has been well taken or not, would, however, be clear on December 27 when President Asif Ali Zardari is expected to make a speech on the death anniversary of Benazir Bhutto.
A well-placed source in the government told Pakistan Today that a number of people, including PML-Q President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, real estate tycoon and a friend of the president Malik Riaz and others, who were trying to diffuse tensions between the government and the military, had been told by the top army brass to ask President Zardari not to hit out at the army in his scheduled speech at Naudero. The source said the ambassadors of friendly countries, including Saudi Arabia, the UAE and others, were also active. The source said General Kayani in his meeting with Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and Pervaiz Elahi told them that the prime minister’s rant against the army was uncalled for and only fuelled the tension between the state institutions. The Chaudhrys called on the COAS in Rawalpindi after meeting President Zardari and Prime Minister Gilani on Friday.
After meeting the COAS, Shujaat again met President Zardari to convince him not to take any step or say any provocative word against the army, as the government’s emotional outburst could take things to a point of no return.
However, the source said some hawks in the PPP were advising President Zardari to adopt aggressive attitude against the generals, against the PML-Q leadership’s advice that asked Zardari to come out of the influence of his “idiot friends”. The source said Awami National Party (ANP) President Asfandyar Wali also advised Zardari not to use harsh words against the army. “Some short-sighted PPP leaders are advising the president and the PM to continue pressurising the army, but the coalition partners are opposed to this approach,” the source said.
He said the COAS also complained to the Chaudhrys that Gilani’s statement regarding presence of Osama bin Laden in the country was highly irresponsible and could excite enemies of the country to slap serious charges against the Pakistan Army and such a statement would never be tolerated in the future.
Another source in the government said the prime minister might not take any action against Defence Secretary Lt General (r) Naeem Khalid Lodhi now in order to facilitate his coalition partners’ efforts for reconciliation between the government and military.
A source in the PML-Q told Pakistan Today that in case the PPP did not exercise restrain, the party would quit the coalition. “The Chaudhrys assured General Kayani that if their efforts for reconciliation between the two sides failed and the PPP leadership continued targeting the army, they would disassociate themselves from Zardari and Gilani and opt to sit on opposition benches to express solidarity with the army,” the source said.