Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani on Saturday tried to make peace with powerful Army chief Ashfaq Parvez Kayani in two separate meetings here.
“The meetings were positive. The misunderstandings have gone down a bit,” a senior government official privy to the meetings told this newspaper.
Gen. Kayani is believed to have assured the President and the PM that there will be no military intervention and that the Army will support the democratic set-up. However, Gen. Kayani is also reported to have sought the withdrawal of Mr Gilani’s crticism of both himself and the ISI chief.
Gen. Kayani first met President Zardari in the presidency and the two discussed “the political and current security situations”. However, sour-ces said the two tried to iron out the differences that have shaken the four-year old PPP-led government. Sources said the Kayani-Zardari meeting was arranged by mutual friends of the Army chief and the President. The PPP-led government is engaged in a clash with the judiciary and the military.
The Army had this week asked the government to stop criticising its leadership while the Supreme Court feels the government is not implementing its decisions. Political and media circles in Pakistan have been abuzz with rumours of a possible coup. While another military takeover is unlikely, the open hostilities reinforce the view that Pakistan’s leaders are caught up in power struggles so often that they are incapable of running the country.
Later, addressing the Defence Committee of the Cabinet meeting attended, among others, by Gen. Kayani and the other service chiefs, Mr Gilani said all institutions need to work within their limits. Praising the “courage and resilience” of the armed forces, Mr Gilani said Pakistan’s honour, integrity and sovereignty are non-negotiable. He said there is harmony on all issues of national interest and that there could be no compromise on Pakistan’s defence.