Pakistan's beleaguered Prime Minister on Sunday defiantly rejected the Army's demand that he retract his criticism of the military, a day ahead of the crucial Supreme Court hearing relating to graft cases which could have a decisive bearing on the current crisis gripping the nation.
The Pakistan Army's top commanders have decided to throw their weight behind the Supreme Court in its standoff with the civilian government over the memo scandal and the revival of high-profile graft cases, according to a media report on Friday.
Pakistan Army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani held a key meeting with top commanders on Thursday against the backdrop of an escalating row with the civilian government over the memo scandal.
A Pakistani court has admitted a petition seeking to block any attempt by the government to sack army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and Inter Services Intelligence chief Lieutenant General Ahmed Shuja Pasha over the memo scandal. The petition filed by lawyer Maulvi Iqbal Haider was accepted by the Islamabad high court on Wednesday. Haider asked the court to restrain the president and prime minister from taking any action against the army and ISI chiefs.
General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, called Pakistani Army Chief General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani to discuss with him military-to-military ties between the two countries. "The call was cordial and professional. It is a routine part of the relationship and another opportunity to understand what is most important to each military as we confront common threats," said Colonel Dave Lapan, spokesman of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
A confrontation between the army and the government came to a head in Pakistan on Wednesday with the powerful army chief warning the prime minister's critical remarks against him and the ISI chief over the memo scandal could have "very serious ramifications" for the country.
China's Public Security Minister Meng Jianzhu arrived in Islamabad for a two-day visit against the backdrop of growing tensions between Pakistan and the US over accusations that the Pakistani spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence was involved in waging a proxy war in Afghanistan.
The war of words between Pakistan and the United States on the Inter-Services Intelligence's alleged links with the Haqqani terror network escalated on Friday with Pakistan Army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani describing US military chief Admiral Mike Mullen's accusations as "not based on facts".
Several cases related to scams and terror incidents of yesteryears reached their logical conclusion in 2011 which saw the conviction of veteran politician Sukh Ram besides confirmation of death sentence of Lashkar-e-Tayiba terrorist Mohd Arif in the 2000 Red Fort attack case.
Official sources said the USD 10 million US bounty for Saeed necessitated the late night meeting of the top civil and military leadership at the Governor's House in Lahore
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Monday dismissed reports that his government was planning to remove the chiefs of the Pakistan Army and Inter-Services Intelligence agency, saying he had personally ensured that both generals were given an extension in service.
Embattled Pakistani government on Monday said Inter-Services Intelligence chief Lt Gen Ahmed Shuja Pasha had stepped beyond his jurisdiction when he briefed Army Chief Gen Ashfaq Pervez Kayani about his meeting with memo scandal whistle-blower Mansoor Ijaz in London.
United States special envoy Marc Grossman on Thursday met Pakistan's top civil and military leadership as part of efforts to salvage bilateral relations following the covert American operation in Abbottabad that killed Osama bin Laden.
Hours after Pakistan President Asif Ali Zaradri suddenly returned home in the thick of brewing standoff over the memogate affair, the army sought to dispel impression that a telephonic conversation between him and its powerful chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani had anything to do with the "some events" in last 72 hours.
Pakistan Army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani has described the alleged secret memo sent to the United States military in May as a conspiracy against national security and called for a thorough probe into the matter, according to a media report on Thursday.
Pakistan will deploy air defence weapons on the border with Afghanistan to pre-empt fresh attacks by NATO forces in the wake of a "pre-planned" air strike that killed 24 soldiers, a top military official has said.
Pakistan Army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani has given his troops "full liberty" to respond to any further cross-border attacks by NATO forces in Afghanistan in the wake of an air strike that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers, official sources said.
The Inter-Services Intelligence does not act independently and takes instructions from Pakistani army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, says a former top aide of United States President Barack Obama, asserting that the spy agency has links with the dreaded Haqqani network of Taliban.
Controversial Pakistani-American businessman Mansoor Ijaz, a key figure in the memo scandal, on Friday claimed that President Asif Ali Zardari had advance information of the United States military raid that killed Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad last year.
The CCB police, which is investigating charges of spot-fixing in the last two seasons of KPL, has so far arrested eight people, including four cricketers, the owner of the Belagavi Panthers' team and an international bookie.
Warning that Pakistan, a nuclear power, was not like Afghanistan or Iraq, the country's powerful army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani said United States would have to think "10 times" before launching an unilateral action in the restive North Waziristan.
Nine rockets were fired in Abbottabad, with two of the projectiles hitting the outer wall of the academy, but there were no reports of causalities or damage in the strike that was carried out at 3.30 am, officials said.
We need to take the bull by its horns and confront the Pakistan Army directly. However blasphemous and anti-protocol it may seem we must insist that General Ashfaq Kayani be a part of the dialogue process, says Vivek Gumaste.
The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad on Monday claimed to have made a major breakthrough in the July 13 triple blasts in Mumbai last year that claimed 27 lives, with the arrest of two of the accused hailing from Bihar.
Beleaguered Pakistan government appears to be in no mood to tone down in the battle of attrition when Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani appears before the Supreme Court on Thursday in compliance with its direction. Gilani, who is already involved in a tussle with the powerful army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, is unlikely to offer apology to the court which has issued a contempt notice for failing to reopen graft cases against President Asif Ali Zardari, sources said.
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and Pakistan Army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani will come face to face for the first time since they crossed swords over the memo issue, when a cabinet committee meets on Saturday to discuss crucial issues related to national security and relations with the US.
Seema Mustafa believes that Pakistan Army chief Ashfaq Kayani would not march his troops into Islamabad for it would only play to the advantage of an unpopular Yousaf Raza Gilani's government.
The Pakistan Army on Wednesday changed the commander of a Rawalpindi-based unit that has traditionally played a vital role in military coups as army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani gathered his key aides to assess an escalation in tensions with the civilian government.
Central Intelligence Agency chief Leon Panetta has confronted Pakistan's military leadership with evidence of collusion between militants and security officials in the country, causing fresh strains in the troubled United States-Pak ties.
Pakistan will not take military action against the Haqqani network despite growing pressure from the United States, even as the country's top military commanders have agreed on the need to de-escalate the situation, according to media reports on Monday. These decisions were made at a special meeting of the Corps Commanders chaired by Pakistan Army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani on Saturday. The commanders vowed to resist US demands for an offensive against the Haqqanis.
A carefully modulated exercise is evident from the reports emanating from Beijing on the current visit of Pakistan's army chief Ashfaq Kayani, says B Raman
A military coup in Pakistan has become inevitable as the country is fast descending into chaos because of the "failure" of the political leadership, some top commanders feel.
Pakistan government is seriously contemplating the removal of powerful army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and ISI head Lt Gen Ahmed Shuja Pasha against the backdrop of a standoff on a memo alleging an army plot to seize power, a media report said on Monday.
In a sensational claim, a former Pakistan army general has said that Osama bin Laden had been kept in a "safe house" of Intelligence Bureau in Abbottabad with "full knowledge" of the then ruler Pervez Musharraf and possibly current Army Chief General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani.
The elected government in Pakistan has found that the little control it had over the army has been completely eroded, says B Raman
The decision to deploy air defence weapons was made as the country re-evaluates its strategy for safeguarding its western borders from air raids, the Pakistan Army's Director General of Military Operations, Maj Gen Ashfaq Nadeem Ahmed, told the federal cabinet and the Senate's Standing Committee on Defence during briefings on Thursday.
Pakistan's powerful army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani does not support President Asif Ali Zardari's "no-first-use" nuclear policy, according to US diplomatic cables released by whistle-blower website WikiLeaks.
Pakistani Army has "broken" the backbone of terrorists and will soon prevail over them, its powerful chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani said on Saturday in an apparent riposte to the United States concerns about his force's capability to take on militants.
Pakistan's powerful Army chief General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani told a top American diplomat that his establishment wanted the resumption of back channel talks with India, but President Asif Ali Zardari was against it, according to a secret United States cable leaked by WikiLeaks.
Pakistan Army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani has "learned the lesson" of his predecessor General Pervez Musharraf and prefers staying behind the scene while manipulating the government's decision-making on key issues, according to secret American documents released by WikiLeaks.
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