ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's powerful military on Wednesday sought to calm worries of a rift with the civilian government, emphasising its commitment to democracy in a country where the army has often seized power.
The reassurance came after the military last month took the unusual step of publicly criticising the government's actions following investigations into a leaked newspaper story about a national security meeting.
On Wednesday, the military's spokesman Major General Asif Ghafoor told a news briefing there was no cause for concern.
"We will continue to work with all government institutions to do what is best for the country," Ghafoor said.
"There's been a lot of talk about democracy in the past two weeks, but nowhere was there any mention that any actions should be taken against democracy."
The military has ruled Pakistan for 33 of the 70 years since the country gained independence from Britain in 1947.
The country has had a democratically elected government since 2008, but the army retains sweeping influence and any hint of discord raises worries among advocates of a strong civilian government.
The row came after an article in the English-language Dawn newspaper in October, detailing high-level security talks, angered the army.
But a tweet from Ghafoor rejected Sharif's actions as "incomplete".
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