Pakistan top judge rules out military takeover

Pakistan's top judge on Friday ruled out any question of a military coup as the Supreme Court again deliberated a memo scandal that has raised tensions between the government and the military. "Rest assured... in this country there is no question of (military) takeover because the people trust the apex court now," said Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, while hearing petitions calling for an investigation into the scandal. The hearing reconvened one day after embattled Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani delivered an unprecedented tirade against Pakistan's powerful military and accused "conspirators" of plotting to bring down his government. A nine-judge panel headed by Chaudhry is deliberating whether to order an investigation into allegations that a close aide of the president wrote asking for US help to prevent a feared coup and reign in the military's power in May. Rampant speculation has refused to die that President Asif Ali Zardari could be forced out of office over the scandal and a recent illness, despite his return to the capital following two weeks of medical treatment in Dubai. "We assume that nothing will occur and only the constitutional order will prevail," Chaudhry told the court.