The Pakistani military Thursday reiterated support for the embattled President Pervez Mushrraf despite his political allies' rout in last month's parliamentary election, reported the DPA. A false impression was being created about "distancing of the army from the president," army chief general Pervez Kiyani told a Corps Commanders' conference in the garrison city of Rawalpindi. A statement from the military's Inter Services Public Relations department said: "Kiyani was optimistic that there would be a harmonized relationship between various pillars of the state, as provided in the constitution, in order to maximize national effort." Pakistan's armed forces have been giving unrelenting support to former army chief Mushrraf since he took over in a bloodless coup in 1999. But things have changed since late last year when the president doffed his military uniform amid increasing international pressure. Some local media reports suggested that Kiyani had recently pressed Musharraf for resigning from the post following the defeat of his supporters - but he dispelled the impression. "Highlighting the need for understanding, Kiyani pointed out that any kind of schism, at any level, under the circumstances would not be in the larger interest of the nation," the statement said. The army fully stood behind the democratic process and was committed to play its constitutional role in support of the elected government, said the DPA.
