Grim respite for Gilani in Parliament vote victory

Whilst the statement was seen as an an affront to the military, a cautious Gilani said that the purpose of the move was not an attack on the armed forces, which has ruled the country for more than half of its 64-year history through a series of coups.

Even though the fate of the vote did not surprise anyone, political analysts said that the result would lend a "moral advantage" to Gilani when he faces the apex court, that began contempt proceedings on Monday against him for refusing to reopen a graft investigation against Zardari.

Ahead of the Parliament's vote, Gilani on Monday met Zardari and coalition partners at his Islamabad residence, after the Supreme Court issued a contempt notice to the Prime Minister for refusing to obey a 2009 order against the President.

Tightening screws on the country's embattled leadership, the judiciary, that has become increasingly assertive in recent years and may have been further emboldened by widespread resentment of the government, called Gilani ´dishonest´.

The blow for the Prime Minister came even as he sought to defuse a burgeoning stand-off between the civilian government and the country's military by reaching out to army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani.

With the influential army chief by his side, Gilani, who had last month claimed conspirators were plotting to bring down his government, without specifically blaming the military, on Saturday was heard voicing his "full support" for the armed forces.

Speaking after a a cabinet committee meeting, Gilani, lauded services of the armed forces in the defence of the country, calling them a "pillar of nation´s resilience and strength" and said that all state institutions will be allowed to play their role.

The meeting was the two men's first face-to-face encounter since an escalation of a heady altercation between Pakitan's military and civilian government that had brought democracy in the nuclear armed Islamic state to what many believed the brink of a collapse.

However, Kayani appeared to adopt a tough stance after even after the seemingly conciliatory remarks, and was quoted by the country's media calling the Prime Minister "divisive" for his earlier criticisms of the armed forces.

Pakistan's political spectrum and the media have been abuzz with rumours of a possible military coup kindled by a controversy involving a diplomatic memo, purportedly crafted by Pakistan's former envoy to the U.S., Husain Haqqani.

The memo seeking American help to stave off a military coup in Pakistan was made public in a newspaper column by Pakistani-American businessman Mansoor Ijaz last October and marked the beginning of an increasingly tumultuous tussle in the country.