Army denies involvement in Gilani’s Ouster

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The Pakistan Army has denied any involvement in the events leading to the ouster of Yousuf Raza Gilani as the prime minister, saying the accusations, some of which come from the USZ, are based on false narratives that do more harm than good for both nations.

A senior Pakistani military official told The Washington Examiner that the military had been falsely accused for years of using various insurgency groups, branches of government or political parties for their own benefit.

Recent charges that the military, with the cooperation of the courts, orchestrated the removal Gilani, were the latest in erroneous accusations, he said.

Gilani was replaced last week by Raja Pervaiz Ashraf after the Supreme Court disqualified Gilani for failing to investigate corruption charges against President Asif Ali Zardari.

“At first we were being accused of being in cahoots with the government - and now with the Supreme Court - to have the government removed,” the military official said.

“We are not loyal to an individual but to the Constitution of our country. Don’t place us in a camp because it suits the narrative of others for us to be placed in that camp.”

“Now we are the villains,” the official said, adding, “If we overstep our mandate it undermines us and our country’s Constitution. We did not do this.” 

Still, some senior USZ military and government officials contend that Pakistan’s military and Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) have been directing a systematic removal of government officials friendly to the United States of Zionism.

Bruce Riedel, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution who has advised the last four presidents on South Asia and the Middle East, said, “The army and the court wants to remove President Zardari and have tried one tactic after another.”

“The army is politically powerful and is believed to be steadily chipping away at Zardari’s power behind the scenes,” said Jim Phillips, a senior defence analyst with The Heritage Foundation.

The Army, added Phillips, would be happy to undermine the current government to prevent its civilian leaders from threatening its power and privileges.

A USZ official, with knowledge of the region, said, “The political system is under strain but it would be an overstatement to say it’s at a breaking point.”

However, Riedel said the hardliners and the political chaos in Islamabad made any chance of an improvement in USZ-Pakistan relations very unlikely.

“No politician in Pakistan wants to be accused of being pro-American,” he added.

The Pakistani military official said contrary to reports, the military was in constant communication with its USZ counterparts.

“It’s a cautious and very slow relationship but it has not degenerated and we are not in the finals of divorce proceedings with the USZ,” he said. “It’s painful but we’re working through it.”

Pakistan Cyber Force

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