PM backtracks in bid to mend fences

It’s time to mend fences. In a bid to ease tensions with the military leadership, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani on Wednesday retracted his statement about Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Director General (DG) Lt General Ahmad Shuja Pasha, saying he wanted to dispel the impression that the two generals had submitted their replies to the Supreme Court in violation of rules of business and the constitution.
He told reporters at Chaklala Air Base before leaving for Davos, Switzeland to attend the World Economic Forum that his statements regarding the rejoinders of General Kayani and Lt Gen Pasha were relevant in a certain situation. Gilani’s statement came a day after a meeting with the COAS and the ISI DG. He said there were a lot of events taking place and there was overlapping by a lot of government functionaries on many issues. “My statement was in that context,” said the prime minister, adding that later when he found that some of the discrepancies had been made by certain functionaries, he took action against them.
“I am dispelling the remarks given at that occasion; they were under a unique situation when things were overlapping and there was no clarity. But since there is clarity and now we have all met and [the statement] does not pertain to these two gentlemen (The COAS and the ISI DG),” he said. Replying to another question about relations between the institutions, the prime minister said: “The country cannot work in an atmosphere of confrontation among the institutions. Therefore for the national interest, we have to be on the same page.”
This is not the first time that Gilani has withdrawn his words. On December 16, a day after the COAS and the ISI DG’s responses were submitted to the apex court in the memo case, General Kayani had held a meeting with Prime Minister Gilani. An official statement issued by PM’s House after the meeting had said: “The Prime Minister and the Army Chief also agreed that replies forwarded by the COAS and DG ISI were in response to the notice of the Honourable Court, through proper channel and in accordance with the rules of business and should not be misconstrued as a standoff between the Army and the government.” However, a week later on December 22, Gilani made two emotional speeches in a day, claiming that conspirators were plotting to bring down the democratic government. He also said that a “state within a state” would not be allowed. He claimed that rules of business had been violated when the army chief and ISI DG sent their replies to the court and the government had been bypassed in this regard.
However, the following day, the army chief rubbished the allegations and said in an Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) statement that the army would support the democratic process in the country. However, after a short lull, Gilani once again hit back at Kayani by telling a Chinese online daily on January 9 that General Kayani and Lt General Pasha had violated the rules of business while submitting their responses to the Supreme Court in the memo case without the approval of the competent authority. The significance of the premier’s statement was that General Kayani was on an official visit to China by the time the contents of the interview were officially released by the government.
General Kayani kept his cool and an ISPR rejoinder again made a categorical statement that the COAS and ISI DG, in their response to the apex court, were obliged to state facts as known to them on the memo issue following prescribed rules. “Allegiance to State and the Constitution is and will always remain prime consideration for the Respondent, who in this case has followed the book,” added the ISPR statement. General Kayani later held a detailed meeting with President Asif Ali Zardari and a foreign media outlet had claimed that during the meeting, General Kayani had demanded a statement by the government to dispel the impression created by Gilani. This statement by the prime minister seems a desperate bid to clear that impression, as demanded by the army.