Islamabad: As Pakistan prepares to usher in a new government, Army Chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani has said the military would ''stay out of the political process'' and that it would support the next government.

President Pervez Musharraf's handpicked General told a meeting of top army commanders that the army ''fully stands behind the democratic process and is committed to play its constitutional role in support of the elected government.''

A military statement also quoted Kayani as saying that ''the army will stay out of the political process''. The General also expressed his hope that ''the army is not dragged into any unnecessary controversy.''

Kayani's comments came a week after the Pakistan People's Party and the PML-N at the first joint meeting of their newly elected parliamentarians last week ahead of forming a coalition government vowed to banish military from politics.

Kayani also dismissed the impression that the military is distancing itself from Musharraf.

The General highlighted the need for understanding and pointed out that a ''schism'' at any level would not be in the larger interest of Pakistan.

In his opening remarks, Kayani observed that an impression is being created about ''distancing of the army from the President''.

Observers said Kayani's remarks would come as a boost for the embattled President, whose supporters were defeated in the February 18 general election.

He emphasised the ''importance of the constitutional relationship between the army and the National Command Structure''.

Sources pointed out that the ''National Command Structure'' includes the President, who heads the National Security Council and the National Command Authority, the body that controls Pakistan's nuclear arsenal.

The army chief's comments were apparently aimed at bolstering his stand that the army should be apolitical. Since he was appointed as the chief by Musharraf in November last year, Kayani has barred army officers from interacting with politicians. He also recalled hundreds of army officers serving in civilian departments.

Kayani expressed satisfaction at the conduct of peaceful elections and said he was ''optimistic that there would be a harmonised relationship between various pillars of the state, as provided in the constitution, in order to maximise national effort''.

He also reaffirmed the army's ''commitment to the solidarity and integrity of Pakistan which is possible only with the full support of the people''. He appreciated the ''whole-hearted effort of officers and men alike to defeat the threat posed to the security of Pakistan''.

Kayani appraised the conference on ''tangible progress made on various issues relating to 'Year of the Soldier' with respect to accommodation, education, rations and uniform''. The meeting also discussed various issues related to operational preparedness, training and administration of the army.

Kayani had announced last year that 2008 will be observed as the ''Year of the Soldier'', a move that defence experts said was aimed at shoring up the morale of the military, which has been hit by a series of deadly suicide bombings.

Lt Gen Mushtaq Ahmed Baig, the military's senior-most medical officer, was killed in a suicide bombing in the garrison city of Rawalpindi last month while dozens of troops have died in other attacks in the northwestern parts of the country.

Source : PTI