ISLAMABAD, Dec 4: In its first official reaction since the startling revelations by WikiLeaks have rocked the corridors of power in Islamabad, the Pakistan army has said it never planned a coup against the PPP-led coalition government. Dawn

“The army has a demonstrated policy of supporting the political process within confines of the Constitution,” a military spokesman told on Saturday.

He was responding to a question about the disclosure by the whistleblower website that Chief of the Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani had contemplated ousting President Asif Ali Zardari at the height of the judicial crisis.

The spokesman said General Kayani held the entire political leadership, including PML-N chief Mohammad Nawaz Sharif, in high esteem. But he said nothing about the veracity of the leaked document according to which the general had expressed concern over the alleged corruption of President Zardari. Dawn

Another military official told that the 'malicious leaks' was an attempt to create a rift between the civil and military leadership, besides damaging the country's relations with its trusted friends. He said that soon after taking over, General Kayani had vowed to support the democratic process and stay away from politics.

The Wikileaks revealed that General Kayani had told the US ambassador in March 2009 that he “might, however reluctantly,” pressure Asif Zardari to resign and leave the country. Gen Kayani was quoted as saying that he might support Asfandyar Wali Khan, leader of the Awami National Party, as the new president.

According to a diplomatic cable sent to Washington by then US ambassador Anne W. Patterson, Gen Kayani made it clear that regardless of how much he disliked Mr Zardari, he despised Mr Nawaz even more. According to another cable, US Vice-President Joe Biden recounted to then British prime minister Gordon Brown's conversation with Mr Zardari last year. Mr Zardari told him that Gen Kayani and the Inter-Services Intelligence “will take me out”.

Sources said that Gen Kayani's meeting with President Asif Ali Zardari on Friday was to clear the confusion created by WikiLeaks.

The talk of a possible military coup are nothing new and rumours on the subject keep on doing the rounds off and on.

The rare pro-democracy resolution passed by parliament a couple of months ago made many to think there was something wrong. What added to the controversy was the statement of MQM chief Altaf Hussain, which was seen by many as an invitation to the army chief for a martial-law like intervention. Dawn

But the situation seemed to have improved after the army chief's extension was announced by the prime minister in a televised address. “This is for the first time that a PPP government and the establishment are on the same page,” Prime Minister Gilani said in a recent interview with .

Meanwhile, ISPR Director General Maj-Gen Athar Abbas has rejected a perception that the army is planning to pull out a division size force from Swat and deploy it in North Waziristan. Dawn

Talking to , he said that no decision had been taken in the formation commanders' conference about any operation in North Waziristan.