Pakistan on Wednesday praised the army for its role in solving the political crisis that led to the resignation of President Farooq Leghari in a victory for Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's ruling Muslim League.
"The Pakistan Army played a positive role to stabilize the situation and demonstrated a commendable commitment to the constitution, rule of law and democratic political system," Information Minister Mushahid Hussain said in a statement.It was the first time that Sharif's government had publicly acknowledged the support which Western diplomats believed the powerful military gave to end weeks of constitutional paralysis.
Hussain said the army had backed democracy and this was vital for a country which had had periods of martial law.
"It is thus clear that promoting and protecting the constitution and the democratic system are central to the core values of the Pakistan Army, and this too is a sign of stability."
The army itself made no comment on its role. Last week, it said it had mediated to prevent the crisis becoming "irretrievable" when the government prepared to impeach Leghari but backed down at the last moment.
It also denied having any designs on power after media reports suggested that a return to martial law, last in force in 1985, was imminent because of the standoff between Sharif and the judiciary and president.
Earlier on Wednesday, Ajmal Mian was sworn in as acting chief justice by another judge, the first change after the bitter power struggle ended on Tuesday with the resignation Leghari.
Mian was ordered to act as an interim Chief Justice after a 10-judge bench suspended chief justice Sajjad Ali Shah on Tuesday. Mian took control of the Supreme Court soon afterwards.
Shah's removal prompted the resignation of Leghari, who had been at odds with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif for months in a power struggle that threatened constitutional breakdown.
Under the constitution, the speaker of the senate, Waseem Sajjad, became acting president and a new president must be elected by both chambers of the parliament and provincial assemblies within 30 days.
Sajjad, a member of Sharif's Pakistan's Muslim League (PML) lost to Leghari in the previous election in 1993, is tipped as a strong candidate to run.
Leghari was a member of Benazir Bhutto's opposition Pakistan People's Party. He sacked her government in November last year on disputed charges of corruption.
The President's powers were thought to be one of the key differences with Sharif, who introduced a constitutional amendment soon after taking office in February which stripped the President of powers to sack a government.
Pakistan's key stock market, the Karachi KSE, surged at the open in an apparent vote of confidence for the pro-business policies of Sharif.