London, Oct 12 : Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari asked US President Barack Obama to stop Pakistan Army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani from staging a coup to oust the weak civilian government, days after Osama bin Laden’s killing in Abbottabad, according to an exchange of secret messages revealed by a British newspaper.

In the message, Zardari had offered to bring in “a new national security team” that would end the Inter-Services Intelligence’s relations with the Haqqani network and Taliban, The Financial Times of London reported.

The offer was sent through a prominent US citizen of Pakistani origin, investment banker and businessman Mansoor Ijaz, The News reports.

In an article in FT that was almost a confession, Mansoor admitted that he had received the message from a senior Pakistani diplomat and sent it to Admiral Mike Mullen, and claimed that his channel was used to “bypass the Pakistan Army and intelligence channels.”

“Early on May 9, a week after US Special Forces stormed the hideout of Osama bin Laden and killed him, a senior Pakistani diplomat telephoned me with an urgent request. Asif Ali Zardari, Pakistan’s president, needed to communicate a message to White House national security officials that would bypass Pakistan’s military and intelligence channels,” said the Financial Times report by-lined Mansoor himself.

“The embarrassment of bin Laden being found on Pakistani soil had humiliated Mr Zardari’s weak civilian government to such an extent that the president feared a military takeover was imminent. He needed an American fist on his army chief’s desk to end any misguided notions of a coup - and fast,” he added.

“The diplomat made clear that the civilian government’s preferred channel to receive Mr Zardari’s message was Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the US joint chiefs of staff. He was a time-tested friend of Pakistan and could convey the necessary message with force not only to President Barack Obama, but also to General Kayani,” Mansoor said in the FT report.

“In a flurry of phone calls and emails over two days, a memorandum was crafted that included a critical offer from the Pakistani president to the Obama administration: “The new national security team will eliminate ‘Section’ S of the ISI charged with maintaining relations to the Taliban, Haqqani network, etc. This will dramatically improve relations with Afghanistan.”

“The memo was delivered to Admiral Mullen at 14.00 hours on May 10. A meeting between him and Pakistani national security officials took place the next day at the White House. Pakistan’s military and intelligence chiefs, it seems, neither heeded the warning, nor acted on the admiral’s advice,” he added.

Questions about the ISI’s role in Pakistan have intensified in recent months, the report said, noting that the finger of responsibility in many otherwise inexplicable attacks has often pointed to a shadowy outfit of ISI, dubbed as “S-Wing”, which is said to be dedicated to promoting the dubious agenda of a narrow group of nationalists who believe only they can protect Pakistan’s territorial integrity. (ANI)