Islamabad: A confrontation between the army and the government came to a head in Pakistan on Wednesday with the powerful army chief warning that the Prime Minister's critical remarks against him and the ISI chief over the memo scandal could have "very serious ramifications" for the country.

Reacting sharply to Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani's contention that the army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and ISI chief Lt Gen Ahmed Shuja Pasha had acted in an illegal manner in the memo scandal, a terse army statement said these remarks could have "very serious ramifications with potentially grievous consequences".

"There can be no allegation more serious than what the honourable prime minister has levelled against COAS and DG ISI (army chief and spy chief) and has unfortunately charged the officers for violation of the constitution of the country," said the army's statement.

"This has very serious ramifications with potentially grievous consequences for the country."

Just minutes after the strongly worded warning by the army, Gilani sacked defence secretary Lt Gen (retired) Khalid Naeem Lodhi, considered close to the army chief, marking an escalation in the row.

The fast-paced developments came as the government was on a collision course with the judiciary too, with the Supreme Court warning yesterday that action could be taken against both the President and Prime Minister for failing to act on a court order to reopen corruption case against President Asif Ali Zardari.

Earlier, Zardari made it clear that he did not intend to resign even as an urgent session of parliament has been called to consider the situation.

Zardari through his spokesman refuted reports that he had offered to resign at a meeting of his Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and its allies late last night.

Two days after Gilani had said that the army and ISI chiefs had filed affidavits on the memo issue in the Supreme Court without obtaining the government's permission, the powerful military said there could be "no allegation more serious" than that made by the premier.

Gilani had made the remarks during an interview with the online edition of China's state-run People's Daily on Monday.

He said replies filed by army chief Kayani and ISI chief Pasha to the Supreme Court in connection with the alleged memo did not have the approval of the competent authority as required under the rules of business.

He further said no formal proposal seeking the approval of the competent authority for these two replies was initiated by the defence ministry.

No approval was obtained for the replies from the defence minister and any official action by a government functionary without the government's prior approval is "unconstitutional and illegal", Gilani had said.

Sources said the military leadership had gathered details about Gilani's remarks during the interview.

The matter was then assessed by Kayani and top army commanders on Tuesday so that the military could issue a formal response, the sources said.

The military statement contended that Gilani's remarks did not "take into account" some "important facts".

It further contended that the army and ISI chiefs were not responsible for obtaining approval for the replies they had sent to the Supreme Court.

The statement said the army and ISI chiefs were named as respondents in petitions filed in the apex court regarding the alleged memo and the court had "served notices directly to the respondents".

This was not objected to by the attorney general, it said. The responses of the army and ISI chiefs were sent to the defence ministry for submission to the Supreme Court through the attorney general.