Islamabad: Pakistan’s top four military officials, including powerful army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, were absent from a state banquet hosted by President Asif Ali Zardari, triggering speculation about unease in ties between the government and the military.
The three service chiefs and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee were not among the guests at the reception and banquet hosted by Zardari for his Turkmen counterpart Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov at the presidency on Monday.
The presence or absence of the top military leadership at events organised by the civilian government is closely tracked by the media and political circles, as it is considered a reflection of the state of relations between the military and the government.
The absence of the military leaders at the banquet was reported by several TV news channels on Tuesday.
One channel quoted its sources as saying that an inquiry had been ordered to ascertain why the service chiefs did not attend the reception hosted by the President. In a brief statement, the Inter-Services Public Relations said: “They did not attend because they were not invited to attend.” The statement did not give details.
However, officials pointed out that Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee chairman Gen Khalid Shameem Wynne and the air force chief, Air Chief Marshal Rao Qamar Suleman, were currently in the United Arab Emirates to attend the Dubai Air Show.
Army chief Gen Kayani, who was in Rawalpindi, did not attend the banquet as he was not in the country at the time when invitations were sent out for the banquet, the officials told the media. The News daily too quoted its sources in the presidency as saying that Kayani was not invited because he was out of the country when the invitations were extended. (PTI)