Sebastian Abbot: Pakistani Army Denies Intention to Oust Government

Pakistan's army chief has denied accusations that the military is working to oust the country's civilian government amid tensions over a secret memo sent to Washington earlier this year about an alleged coup, the military said Friday. The memo scandal has heightened long-standing tensions between the army and the government at a time when the country is struggling to deal with a violent Taliban insurgency, a stuttering economy and deteriorating relations with its most important ally, the United States. Pakistani Taliban fighters attacked a paramilitary fort in north-western Pakistan on Friday, killing one soldier and kidnapping 15 others, police said. The brazen attack was followed by a statement to media in which the militants said they would kill the abducted troops. Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani claimed Thursday that there was a conspiracy under way to topple the government. He did not specifically point to the military, but said the army must be answerable to the parliament and cannot operate as "a state within a state." Army chief Gen. Pervez Ashfaq Kayani denied the allegations, and pledged the force would continue to support democracy in Pakistan. "The army is fully cognizant of its constitutional obligations and responsibilities," Kayani said Thursday, during a trip near the Afghan border. His remarks were cited in an army statement Friday.