No plans to change army chief Kayani: Pak

Pakistan government on Wednesday said it has no plans to remove army chief Ashfaq Parvez Kayani or make changes in the military high command, dismissing speculation in this regard amid concerns expressed by top Generals over conditions attached to USD 7.5 billion in American aid.

Pakistan government on Wednesday said it has no plans to remove army chief Ashfaq Parvez Kayani or make changes in the military high command, dismissing speculation in this regard amid concerns expressed by top Generals over conditions attached to USD 7.5 billion in American aid.

HT Image

There is no move by the government to change the army chief, Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira told reporters at Chaklala military airbase near the garrison city of Rawalpindi.

Sections of the ruling PPP have been critical of the army for coming out in public with its concerns over conditions attached to USD 7.5 billion in American aid to be provided to Pakistan over a period of five years under the Kerry-Lugar bill.

Though no senior PPP leader has made a public comment in this regard, Presidential spokesman Farhatullah Babar has said that army should not have gone public with its concerns.

Babar noted that US aid packages negotiated under former President Pervez Musharraf too contained similar clauses as in the Kerry-Lugar bill but the army had not complained then.

The army conveyed its concerns over the US bill to Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani in a letter. The army's corps commanders also discussed the matter during a meeting chaired by Kayani last week.