No assurances against military coup in Pakistan: US

WASHINGTON: The US today said it has neither sought nor received assurances that the Pakistani army will not stage a coup, even as it made it clear that it supports a "civilian-led government" in the country.

Acknowledging that Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen Martin E Dempsey has talked on phone to Pakistani Army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, a Pentagon spokesman said: "I'm not aware that we've sought any assurances, and I don't think we're aware that we've been given any."

"This is a matter for Pakistani officials and the government leaders there, military and civilian, to work out," Pentagon spokesman Navy Capt John Kirby said in first comments by US officials on the ongoing tussle between the army and government in Pakistan.

Echoing the sentiments that the developments were the internal matters of Pakistan, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said the US supports a "civilian-led government" as it maintains "strong relations" with the Pakistan military.

"We want to see all parties in Pakistan behave in a manner consistent with the country's constitution with the democratic process and civil discourse," she said after a meeting between Pakistan's new ambassador Sherry Rehman and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at the State Department.

Nuland called the meeting a "chance talk" to "getting our relation back on the track in all its elements in the new year.

Asked about Pakistan's political instability, she said US diplomats in Islamabad were monitoring the situation but insisted that these were internal matters.