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ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's top judge on Friday ruled out any possibility of a military coup as the Supreme Court deliberated a scandal that has significantly escalated tensions between the government and the military.
“Rest assured... in this country there is no question of (military) takeover because the people trust the apex court now,” said Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, while hearing petitions calling for an investigation into the scandal.
The hearing reconvened one day after embattled Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani delivered an unprecedented tirade against Pakistan's powerful military and accused “conspirators” of plotting to bring down his government.
A nine-judge panel headed by Chaudhry is deliberating whether to order an investigation into allegations that a close aide of the president wrote asking for US help to prevent a feared coup and reign in the military's power in May.
On Thursday, Gilani said the military could not be “a state within a state”. The armed forces has carried out three coups in Pakistan and is considered the chief arbiter of power in the country of 174 million.
“We assume that nothing will occur and only the constitutional order will prevail,” Chaudhry told the court.
The memo was submitted to then chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, on May 10, calling for US intervention to prevent a feared military coup in exchange for overhauling Pakistan's security leadership.
Any decision from the Supreme Court to investigate the memo would build significant pressure on the president, with most observers expecting elections sometime in 2012 - before Zardari's mandate ends in February 2013.
Chaudhry added to speculation that it will decide to order an investigation by saying: “the chief of the army staff has shown trust in the supreme court” and pointing out that Pasha also said the matter should be probed.
The hearing was adjourned until December 27.
