The Prime Minister's three-hour long meeting with the COAS and Mr Gilani’s statements afterwards indicate a patch-up is in process between the civilian government and army, in the aftermath of the memo issue. The impression found further strength, as the President, who was supposed to have been advised to take complete rest for two weeks, decided to return home, late Sunday night. However, at least three developments since then have altered the scenario altogether. The first was the Supreme Court’s hearings and its scathing remarks of certain PPP stalwarts and high government functionaries, that could fall under the category of contempt of court. The second instance was COAS General Kayani’s reiteration of the army position that stood in sharp contrast with the position of the federation. The COAS maintained that the memo, a reality, was designed to lower the morale of the army. He demanded a thorough investigation. The DG ISI in turn, averred that there was undeniable evidence of a conspiracy against the army. And the third pointer to the continuing strains between the two vital institutions of the state was Mr Zardari’s dash to Islamabad after barely two days in Karachi.
In the meantime, the Defence Ministry has issued a statement saying that it has no control over the operations conducted by the army and the ISI. To justify the President’s position for not filing his reply to the court's query, the Prime Minister, while saying that the President and PM had no link with the memo, took the plea that the federation’s response should be assumed to be covering the President’s. If it was on the presumption of immunity of the President, the apex court laid it to rest by observing that if anyone thought that they enjoyed immunity, they would be required to approach the court for an opinion on the subject. That has not deterred Mr Gilani from asserting that ‘under the Constitution everyone is accountable to Parliament’ and persisting in remarks to the effect that conspiracies are being hatched against the government. On the other hand, Hussain Haqqani’s counsel Asma Jehangir has accepted that the Supreme Court has the right to hear the case. Against this backdrop of a raging controversy, the Supreme Court has stated that it is in the process of reaching a conclusion whether the case is maintainable. Mian Nawaz Sharif supports the army’s point of view and asserts that even if half of what the memo reveals is true, it reflects a threat to the security of the country.
The unmistakable clash between the government and the army as well as the government and the judiciary is not a good omen for the smooth functioning of the government. One wonders why the PPP-led government is reluctant to let the Supreme Court investigate a scandal that has created such strain between these institutions. It is time that saner counsels prevailed in the high echelons of the ruling political setup and accepted the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court, the highest judicial authority of the country, on the case before the situation becomes irreconcilable.