Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani sacked his defence secretary on Wednesday for ‘gross misconduct’ in triggering a row between the army and civilian leadership, a senior government official told.
"Prime minister has terminated the contract of defence secretary Naeem Khalid Lodhi for gross misconduct," he said. State media said he had been fired "for creating misunderstanding between the state institutions".
The army earlier said the defence ministry had failed to process its submissions made to a Supreme Court inquiry into a controversial unsigned memo that sought US help in curbing the power of the military.
That failure triggered a row between the country's military and civilian leadership, with the prime minister earlier in the week telling Chinese media the army top brass had acted unlawfully in failing to consult it.