Army withdraws tweet rejecting Prime Minister’s order

Pakistan’s powerful military and the government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Wednesday settled their differences over a newspaper report that claimed that the government was urging the former to act against militants or face isolation.

The report, published in the daily Dawn last October, saw tensions between the military and the government establishments rise to an unprecedented level.

Military commanders had urged the government to punish those who leaked the report to the paper.

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Subsequently, a Joint Investigation Team was formed to determine who was involved in the incident. Following the publication of the report, the Information Minister was removed from his post, and, later last month, Mr. Sharif sacked his special assistant on Foreign Affairs Tariq Fatmi and Principal Information Officer, and issued a notification in this regard.

Reiterates commitment

However, a military spokesman tweeted that the notification was rejected. After a meeting between Mr. Sharif and Army Chief General Qamar Bajwa, the military spokesman announced on Wednesday the withdrawal of his tweet. “The tweet on April 29 was not aimed at any government office or person. Recommendations duly approved by the Prime Minister have been implemented, which has settled the issue. Accordingly, [the] Twitter post stands withdrawn and has become infructuous,” a statement by the military said.

It added that the Army reiterated its firm commitment and continued resolve to uphold the Constitution of Pakistan and support the democratic process.

Civil-military tensions have engulfed Pakistan for most of its existence, which had seen three military takeovers.

During most of last year, former military chief General Raheel Sharif had also developed differences with the Prime Minister after the Dawn report.