Kayani holds all national leaders in esteem: ISPR

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Kayani holds all national leaders in esteem: ISPR

* Athar Abbas says WikiLeaks revelations about army chief are baseless

* Army has demonstrated policy of supporting political process within confines of Pakistan’s constitution

LAHORE/ISLAMABAD: Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Kayani holds all national leaders in esteem, including Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz chief Nawaz Sharif, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Athar Abbas was quoted as saying by a private TV channel on Saturday.

The ISPR spokesman said this while referring to recent media reports clarifying certain matters attributed to the army chief by the whistle-blowing website WikiLeaks.

Responding to a question while talking to reporters in Islamabad about WikiLeaks’ recent revelations regarding the Pakistan Army, Abbas said the armed forces gave preference to national interests while dealing with the challenges confronting Pakistan, the channel said.

After the leaked US diplomatic cables highlighted the army’s power in the country, the ISPR DG said that the WikiLeaks revelations about the army chief were baseless.

He said the Pakistan Army was pursuing a clear policy of backing the political process within constitutional limits and army chief Kayani respected the entire political leadership, the spokesman added.

He said that the Pakistani military backed the country’s civilian leadership, adding that the Pakistan Army would continue to support the political and democratic processes within the ambit of law. He clarified that the army fully supported the political set-up within constitutional limits. “The army has a demonstrated policy of supporting the political process within the confines of the constitution of Pakistan,” Abbas added.

This February, former US ambassador Anne Patterson wrote in one cable that the civilian government “remains weak, ineffectual and corrupt. Domestic politics is dominated by uncertainty about the fate of President Zardari”.

“Kayani made it clear that regardless of how much he disliked Zardari, he distrusted Nawaz even more. The scenario Kayani hinted at was one in which he would pressure Zardari to resign (and presumably leave the country),” Patterson said in the cable.

In March 2009, during a period of political turmoil, Kayani told Patterson that he “might, however reluctantly”, pressure Zardari to resign. The president was reportedly feeling the pressure. In 2009, US Vice President Joe Biden told former British prime minister Gordon Brown that Zardari had told him Pakistan’s main spy chief and “Kayani will take me out”. daily times monitor/agencies

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