Pakistan's president left the country Thursday for what was described
as a one-day private visit to Dubai, officials said. during a deepening
crisis between the government and the powerful military.
Early
last month, President Asif Ali Zardari traveled to Dubai for medical
treatment, triggering rumors that he was either being pushed out by the
army or was fleeing a potential coup.
He returned after a few
weeks, but tensions have continued to soar in the country, with critics
gleefully predicting the government's imminent downfall.
The
officials said the trip was unconnected to the current crisis. They said
the president would attend a wedding in Dubai and would be back in
Pakistan on Friday morning. They didn't give their names because they
were not authorized to release the information.
As Zardari left,
military chief Gen. Ashfaq Pervez Kayani met with top commanders, media
reports and a military officer said, fueling speculation about the
army's next move in the political crisis.
Most analysts say Kayani
doesn't want a coup because the army is fighting Islamist militants,
the country is facing economic ruin and seizing power would trigger
domestic and international criticism. But they say the generals may be
happy to allow a Supreme Court hostile to the government to dismiss
Zardari if it can find a "constitutional" way to do so.
On
Wednesday, the prime minister fired the defense secretary in a rare
public display of assertiveness by the civilian government against the
army, as the fallout from a scandal centered on a memo written to
Washington asking for its help in reining in the generals widened.
The
court, regarded as an ally of the army, is investigating that affair
and a second one linked to past corruption cases against the president.
Both could potentially be used as a pretext to oust the current civilian
leadership, which is showing no signs of bending.
The crisis is
consuming the attentions of the ruling elite in a country that is
struggling to overcome economic turmoil and a bloody al-Qaida fueled
insurgency.
Late Thursday, an American missile strike killed four
foreign militants in North Waziristan, a lawless region close to the
Afghan border that is home to extremists from around the world,
Pakistani officials said. It was the second such strike in three days.
The
U.S. had put the drone program on hold since late November, where
errant American airstrikes killed two dozen Pakistani soldiers close to
the border, enraging Islamabad. The lull was part of a broad effort to
tamp down tensions with Pakistan as a result of the attacks.
Also
Thursday, a group of militants with guns and grenades ambushed Pakistani
soldiers during a search operation in the town of Sararogha in South
Waziristan, killing four of them, two intelligence officials said.
The
officials— who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not
authorized to speak to reporters about the issue — provided no further
details.
The army spokesman was not available for comment.
The
army has ruled Pakistan for much of its six-decade existence, and it
still sees itself as the rightful custodian of the country's interests.
No civilian Pakistani government has ever completed its term in office.
The Zardari government, which was democratically elected in 2008, is determined to finish its term.
General elections are scheduled for next year, but could well take place sooner.
The
leader of the country's main opposition party, Nawaz Sharif, is no
friend of the army and would have little to gain if the military pushed
Zardari out. Even so, he brought the memo scandal to the attention of
the Supreme Court, and is trying to exploit the chaos and push for early
polls.
"There is no justification for this government to stay in
power any more," he told party members at a meeting to discuss the
crisis, according to his spokesman.
The president's administration
has been widely criticized for poor or ineffectual governance and
alleged corruption. Still, domestic and international proponents of
democracy say his government should be able to complete its term, and
elections should decide the country's next leaders. They note successive
military coups in Pakistan are a main cause of the country's current
malaise. AP
