Pakistanis would like to see the armed forces "confined to garrisons" as the country has already paid an "enormous' cost for frequent interventions by military in politics, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said on Thursday.
The Pakistani people love and admire the armed forces but "these feelings turn into disapproval and aversion when they
interfere in the political affairs of the state," Gilani told a gathering of top military officers at the National Defence University in Islamabad.
"The nation had to pay a cost of the frequent military forays in politics. The price of this interference is enormous, which is equally paid by all stakeholders of the state," said Gilani, who heads the new civilian government that came to power in the February 18
polls held after President Pervez Musharraf doffed his uniform and ended eight years of military rule.
Gilani said the nation "would like to see the armed forces confined to garrisons, preparing themselves for guarding the geographical frontiers of Pakistan, and combating external as well as internal threats under the
civilian authority".
Gilani likened military rule to "a pyramid, with the military and its collaborators at the top of it". They get "increasingly isolated" from the people and military rule "brings about further polarisation in the polity", he said speaking on the theme of 'My Vision of the Future Pakistan'.