Two crucial reasons prompting Pak military to act "extra tough" : Analysts

Islamabad, Jan 14 (ANI): A senior editor has claimed that anger over the 'Memo Gate' issue and a desire to prevent American domination of Pakistan has prompted the country's army to act 'extra tough'.

The two reasons for the Pakistan military's stance to act "extra tough" anger over the Memo Gate issue are to oust President Asif Ali Zardari, and to save its own position from the US domination, an analyst has claimed.

Najam Sethi, the editor of The Friday Times and a senior Geo News analyst, said the army could use the Supreme Court to "get Zardari out," and the second could be that "Kayani and Pasha (ISI chief) have both been considerably weakened by the actions of the Americans."

"They are having to act extra tough to appease their own ranks," The New York Times quoted Sethi, as saying.

The conflict shows that the military "is rigid and uncompromising and not prepared to concede an inch of its turf," he said, adding: "It wants to run foreign policy, it wants to be able to do whatever it wants, and doesn't want any accountability at all."

However, many other analysts say this time, the military has little incentive for such a move, given the fact that the economy is in a parlous state, a homegrown Taliban insurgency bubbles in the northwest, and the generals are still smarting from the damage to their reputation from the unpopular nine-year-rule of Pervez Musharraf, which began in the most recent coup and ended in 2008. (ANI)