Islamabad: In an apparent bid to reach a truce with the Army over the Memogate scandal, Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari on Saturday said that the government was not at war with the Army.
"We are not at war with the military. There is no war. This is part of evolution. It will evolve and simmer down.
He further defended his prime minister saying that Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani's remarks about Osama bin Laden hiding in Pakistan for 7 years were directed at General Pervez Musharraf and not at the Army.
"When PM Gilani said Osama was here for 7 years - account for that, he was talking about Musharraf. Why are you interpreting it as Army?"
He added that he did not try Musharraf as he did not want to demoralize the Army.
"I did not want to demoralize the Army. The institution would have been demoralized by a trial of Pervez Musharraf."
Meanwhile, the US has asked Pakistan to ensure former envoy Husain Haqqani is treated fairly during the probe into the memo scandal. Washington said it is monitoring the situation closely after Haqqani's wife had contacted the US State Department.
Haqqani was forced to quit last year over his alleged role in sending the secret memo on behalf of the Zardari government's seeking US assistance to oust the military leadership.
The scandal broke out when a Pakistani businessman Mansoor Ijaz claimed that he was asked to deliver a secret message from the Zardari government to the Obama administration last year.
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