Pakistan Prime Minister Fires Defense Secretary

Some in the media say conflict between the government and the army has reached a "crisis point."

(Image Source: Commonwealth Network ) BY LAUREN ZIMA ANCHOR LAUREN GORES Pakistan’s prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has fired his defense secretary retired Lieutenant-General Khalid Lodhi for ‘gross misconduct’ -- and the move has big implications. Here’s WHDH. “Tensions between the Pakistani government and the army continue to rise. This morning, the prime minister fired the country’s defense secretary. The move that will likely create more conflict is said to be over a memo sent to Washington seeking US help to reign in Pakistan’s generals.” Fox News explains the history behind the firing and that memo -- and what this means for relations with the US, as well. “The army was outraged by the memo, and the Supreme Court ordered a probe to establish whether it had been sanctioned by the the Pakistani president. The army and the main spy agency gave evidence to the Supreme Court. ... There is problems with military and also the US, and of course, they also launched new drone strikes today by the US military on Pakistan territory.” The BBC reports there is a rift between the civilian government and the military. Lodhi had argued the government has no authority over the army. His firing combined with comments Prime Minister Gilani made criticizing the army earlier this week has led the army to promise big consequences for the government. “It’s bringing this confrontation, really, to crisis point. ... The prime minister has talked about evidence that the military was preparing for a coup. ... The army is going to be upset about this, as I say -- this is a man recommended as Defense Secretary by the current army chief. There are many here speculating the army doesn’t want to rest now until this government falls -- it’s been so infuriated by decisions that have been made.” The army hasn’t gone into detail about what those consequences would be, but, the BBC reports the government is expected to stand its ground.