ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Under pressure from Pakistan’s military, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif ousted two of his top officials on Saturday in a continuing standoff over leaks to the news media of a meeting at which civilian leaders confronted the military over its alleged reluctance to halt Islamist groups in the country.
Saturday’s dismissals were the latest chapter in a showdown over a news story published in October that has infuriated the military. In the article, unnamed sources said government officials bluntly confronted the military over its lassitude in going after militants, saying that the country could be ostracized by the international community.
The removal of the two officials on Saturday, however, did not mollify the country’s powerful army, and seemed to have the opposite effect. Maj. Gen. Asif Ghafoor, a military spokesman, said in a Twitter message that the army rejected Mr. Sharif’s effort, and insisted he make public the results of an investigation into the leaks and put its recommendations into effect.
“The statement by the military will certainly intensify the standoff between the civilians and the military,” said Zahid Hussain, a leading political analyst. “We all know how powerful the military is in the country, but today’s development takes the civil-military conflict even further.”
Syed Tariq Fatemi, a special adviser to Mr. Sharif on foreign affairs and one of his top aides, was removed from his post on Saturday, as was Rao Tehseen Ali Khan, a senior official of the Information Ministry.
The controversy began last fall, when Dawn, considered the country’s leading English daily newspaper, published a front-page news article detailing an unprecedented confrontation between civilian and military leaders during a high-level meeting at the prime minister’s house.
Cyril Almeida, a well-known journalist there, wrote that the civilian leaders had chided the head of the intelligence agency for failing to act against militants in the country.
The news story sparked a furor among powerful generals, who, throughout the country’s history, have never been held accountable for their actions. The military called the leak of the meeting a breach of national security and urged strong, punitive action against those responsible for feeding the newspaper.
Soon after the article’s publication, Mr. Almeida was temporarily barred from leaving the country and Pervez Rashid, the information minister, was removed from his post for failing to stop publication of the story.
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Pakistan’s military spokesman, Maj. Gen. Asif Ghafoor, at a news conference this month in Pakistan. CreditAnjum Naveed/Associated Press
The flare-up is the latest in a long history of Mr. Sharif’s troubles with the military. His last government was toppled in 1999 in a bloodless military coup.
The fact that Mr. Ghafoor, the army’s spokesman and a major general by rank, used the word “reject” in his Twitter message was widely criticized, especially on social media, as many wondered how a military official, technically a subordinate to a government leader, could so blatantly defy the country’s prime minister.
“Such tweets are poisonous for the country’s democracy,” said Nisar Ali Khan, the country’s interior minister.
The military nonetheless stood by its statement. “The tweet represented the military’s position,” said a senior security official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity as he is not authorized to speak to reporters. Military officials said the government had initially agreed to make public the results of its inquiry and had also agreed to stern action against those responsible for the leak.
But the government did not do so on Saturday, nor did it give any specifics on what role of Mr. Fatemi and Mr. Ali Khan might have played in the leaks in the Dawn article. Some have speculated that the investigation into the leaks implicates persons close to Mr. Sharif.
The military ruled Pakistan for several decades — until the 1999 coup — and continues to assert itself in foreign and defense policy. It has spurned Mr. Sharif’s independent streak as he champions civilian supremacy. The army is also incensed at the prime minister’s policy on India, the country’s archrival. Mr. Sharif has advocated normalizing links and increasing trade with its neighbor.
Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa, who became the chief of the army in November, is known to want friendlier ties between the military and Pakistan’s government, but officials say that he finds himself pressured by his own institution to take a tougher line against the government.
The increasing tension with the military complicates Mr. Sharif’s hold over power further as he faces an investigation into his family’s offshore wealth. The Supreme Court this month ordered the inquiry as it ruled on a case involving accusations of corruption and money laundering relating to Mr. Sharif’s family’s properties in London. The allegations were based on the Panama Papers, secret documents about the world of offshore finance that were leaked to journalists.
Mr. Sharif has denied any wrongdoing, but faces mounting pressure to resign. He rejected the calls to resign again on Saturday.
“Opponents call for resignation over everything,” Mr. Sharif told supporters in a Punjab district. “Nawaz Sharif will not resign at anyone’s insistence.”
Analysts say that while the prime minister remains defiant, his hold on power is slipping.
“The prime minister wants to fight it out, but he is in deep waters. He is weakened politically and morally after the court’s verdict,” Mr. Hussain, an analyst said. “It is a very tricky situation for him now.”
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