Islamabad , Feb. 14: Embattled Pakis-tan President Asif Ali Zardari has offered a two-year extension to the Paki-stan Army Chief, General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, official sources said.
“Gen. Kayani has been offered an extension. The offer is verbal but can be made official if the Army chief agrees,” a senior government official told this newspaper. The extension, ostensibly to garner military support for the otherwise shaky government led by the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), comes after the battle lines have been drawn between Mr Zardari and top judge Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry. In a big embarrassment for the President on Saturday, the Supreme Court rejected Mr Zardari’s appointment of a high court judge to the Supreme Court. Growing contacts between the Opposition PML-N leadership and Gen. Kayani are also a matter of concern for Mr Zardari who for apparent reasons cannot afford to open a new front with the powerful Army, which has directly ruled the country for over half of its existence as an independent nation.
Shafqat Ali