Islamabad:
After weeks of high tension between Pakistan's government and its powerful military, the country's Prime Minister has retracted comments that provoked a warning of serious consequences from the army.
According to state TV, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani today said that there was clarity now that the army chief General Parvez Ashraf Kayani and ISI chief Kt General Shuja Pasha had not violated the constitution. Both officers testified in the Supreme Court about "memogate" without involving the civilian government - the Prime Minister had said that in not running their affidavits past the government, they had acted unconstitutionally. The army then issued a statement that talked of grave consequences. Before departing for Davos today, Mr Gilani told state-run PTV that "The country cannot function when there is confrontation between institutions. So for the national interest, we have to be seen on the same page."
Memo-gate refers to a scandal that has shaken the country since October when a Pakistan-American businessman publicly stated that the government had sent a memo to the US in May last year, asking for assistance against an army coup. The businessman, Mansoor Ijaz, said the memo had been dictated to him by then ambassador to the US, Husain Haqqani. A furious military has asked the Supreme Court to investigate the claim, ignoring the government's insistence on a parliamentary inquiry.
Mr Gilani appeared in the Supreme Court on the 19th of this month where he had been summoned for alleged contempt of the court's orders. That case refers to corruption cases against Mr Gilani's boss, President Asif Ali Zardari. Two years ago, the Supreme Court ordered that these cases of graft be re-opened; Mr Gilani says the President is entitled to complete immunity.