NationStates Jolt Archive


Musharraf General no longer

Hamilay
28-11-2007, 15:23
Musharraf gives up army uniform

Gen Musharraf said the army was the saviour of Pakistan
Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf has handed over the command of the military in a ceremony in Rawalpindi.
Gen Musharraf passed a ceremonial baton to Gen Ashfaq Pervez Kayani at the army's headquarters.

In his farewell address, Gen Musharraf said the army was his "life" and he was proud to have been the commander of this "great force".

He had been under huge pressure to quit as army chief and is due to be sworn in as civilian president on Thursday.

Opposition leader Benazir Bhutto welcomed President Musharraf quitting his army post but said her party was in no hurry to accept him as a civilian leader.

She and other opposition leaders, as well as his allies in the West, want a state of emergency lifted ahead of January elections.

'Half a century'

Dressed in full military uniform, Gen Musharraf arrived at the ceremony with a baton under his left arm.

On his arrival, he was greeted by Gen Kayani and inspected a guard of honour.

A military band played Pakistan's national anthem and the ceremony began with a recitation from the Koran.

The colourful ceremony was shown live on PTV, Pakistan's national channel.

"I am bidding farewell to the army after having been in uniform for 46 years," Gen Musharraf said in his address. He became army chief in October 1998.

"This army is my life, my passion. I love this army, and this relationship will continue, although I will not be in uniform," he said.

Gen Musharraf said it was difficult to describe his emotions.

"When one has lived half a century with a family, a family like the army, united, and fully loyal... then leaving it is bound to bring on emotions. But such is the system of life. People come, and they have to go. Good things also come to an end. Everything is mortal," he said.

"I am fortunate to have commanded the best army in the world. This army is an integrating force, the saviour of Pakistan," Gen Musharraf said.

"Without this army, the entity of Pakistan cannot exist."

'Excellent soldier'

Gen Musharraf expressed full faith in the ability of his successor, Gen Kayani, to lead the force.

"He's an excellent soldier and I can say with full confidence that under his command, the armed forces will achieve great heights," Gen Musharraf said.

He had designated Gen Kayani, a former head of the intelligence services, as his successor in October.

The most serious pressure on the president to give up his uniform had come from the United States, his main international backer.

Washington has grown concerned in recent months at the army's inability to rein in pro-Taleban militants and by Gen Musharraf's growing unpopularity.

As a civilian leader, President Musharraf will still have considerable powers, including the ability to sack a civilian government.

He imposed emergency rule on 3 November in order, he said, to control an unruly judiciary and deal with the growing threat from Islamist militants.

General elections are to be held on 8 January. President Musharraf's critics in Pakistan and allies in the West say they cannot be free and fair unless the emergency is lifted.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7116290.stm

Interesting. Well, I suppose this is good. How long's he got before Kayani overthrows him, though? :p
Kryozerkia
28-11-2007, 15:50
"Washington has grown concerned in recent months at the army's inability to rein in pro-Taleban militants and by Gen Musharraf's growing unpopularity."

One question... shouldn't Washington be MORE concerned with Bush's unpopularity and how it'd affect the GOP? I mean really...
Andaluciae
28-11-2007, 16:13
About time.
Aryavartha
28-11-2007, 16:17
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7116290.stm

Interesting. Well, I suppose this is good. How long's he got before Kayani overthrows him, though? :p

Kiyani will be following the traditions set by Zia (overthrew and hung Zulfikar who handpicked and promoted Zia) and Musharraf himself who was promoted to top post overlooking many other seniors by Nawaz Shariff.

Musharraf has brought in Nawaz to counter Benazir getting majority votes. Let's see how that plays out.
Warhammer Syndicate
28-11-2007, 19:07
Yes, about time also.
Aryavartha
28-11-2007, 22:39
For those who are interested (which could probably be just me here :p )

Wilson John in www.DailyPioneer.com

Kiyani's perfect pedigree

Wilson John

Gen Pervez Musharraf's successor as Army chief, Gen Ashfaq Pervez Kiyani, is a former boss of ISI, has patrons in Washington, DC, knows politicians who matter in Pakistan and meets other criteria set by the Americans.

Gen Ashfaq Pervez Kiyani, a Punjabi officer from the famed Baloch Regiment, an experienced India hand, with marked US leanings, on Wednesday took over from Gen Pervez Musharraf as Pakistan Army's 14th Chief of Army Staff. The chain-smoking, reclusive General is the first DG, ISI, to head that country's Army. {He breaks the jinx that kept Hamid Gul, Asad Durrani, Javed Naser out of the top post. In fairness all three were jihadis or smugglers.}

Gen Kiyani's appointment as the Chief of Army Staff does have Washington's consent. He is certainly not part of Gen Musharraf's inner coterie. His appointment could be seen as part of the US grand-strategy to install a democratic set-up in Pakistan with President Musharraf as the civilian head of state and an elected Prime Minister.

Gen Kiyani has undergone three courses in the US, including one at the US Army Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth. He is known to the top brass in Pentagon -- a clear reference to which was made by a US State Department spokesperson who said that senior officers at Pentagon and the CIA have had "some long-term interaction" with Gen Kiyani and "was comfortable with him". Interestingly, he had met Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice last November.

Gen Kiyani is no less political than his predecessor. He has been active in politics for quite sometime. In October 1999, for instance, he was the General Officer Commanding (GOC) at Murree. The GOC, Murree, acts more like a Viceroy of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and is known to take an active interest in managing the political affairs of this federally administered area.

As DG, ISI, he was part of Gen Musharraf's 'A' team, led by National Security Council Secretary Tariq Aziz, negotiating with Ms Benazir Bhutto for a political deal. He was Gen Musharraf's only aide during the hush-hush meeting with Ms Bhutto in Abu Dhabi on July 27. He was the Deputy Military ADC to Ms Bhutto and had been in touch with her even during her self-exile in London.

Gen Kiyani's familiarity with other Punjab-based political parties -- Pakistan Muslim League (Q) and Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) -- cannot be discounted either. He was involved in opening negotiations with Mr Nawaz Sharif's brother, Mr Shahbaz Sharif, in August this year.

Pakistan Muslim League (Q) chairman Chaudhary Shujaat Hussain has also been in touch with Gen Kiyani. According to The News (October 2), "the Chaudharys have been dealing with Gen Kiyani for quite sometime and they are maintaining irritant-free working relations with him."

It is interesting to note that an officer, who is supposedly apolitical, chose to invite PML(Q) leaders and other political leaders to his iftar party in Islamabad, just one day before Gen Musharraf submitted his nomination papers for the second presidential term.

Lt Gen Kiyani hails from one of the largest and most powerful clans from Gujar Khan in the Pothohar belt of Punjab, a traditional recruitment ground for men and officers even during the British times. Punjab accounts for about 60 per cent of the recruitments to Pakistan's Army.

As DG ISI (October 2004-October 2007), Gen Kiyani played an important role in unravelling the London terrorist plot in 2006. It was an ISI tip-off that led the British and the US police to foil the plot. Gen Kiyani, it is reported, worked in tandem with Western intelligence agencies for the follow-up investigations.

As the ISI chief, he was deeply involved in keeping a tab on the growing presence of Al Qaeda and the Taliban in the tribal areas and NWFP. Gen Kiyani is credited with the arrest of a top Al Qaeda operative, Abu Faraz al-Libbi, and hunting down Amjad Farooqui, one of the key suspects in the assassination attempts on Gen Musharraf.

On the flip side, it was during his tenure as the DG ISI that Waziristan and neighbouring areas witnessed increased 'Taliban-isation'. No less significant was his agreeing to release Harkat-ul Mujahideen chief Fazlur Rehman Khalil (December 2004) and Harkat-ul-Jihad Islami chief Qari Saifullah Akhtar (May 2007), two of the Afghan jihad veterans who were instrumental in reorganising terrorist strategies and operations on behalf of the ISI and the Army.

In September 2006, more than 2,600 suspected terrorists were released by Pakistan. It is also reported that many of the junior ISI officials, retired in the purge carried out by Ehsan ul Haq after September 11, 2001, have returned to the fold as contractual employees to aid the Taliban.

These men operate mainly from the ISI office in Chitral (Northern Areas), which supports terrorists launching attacks on the US, and Afghan forces in Kunar and Nuristan. Gen Kiyani as the head of ISI was certainly aware of these developments and allowed such backdoor support to the Taliban as part of Pakistan's overall policy.

Pakistan's Chiefs of Army Staff


Gen Sir Frank Messervy (August 15, 1947 -- February 10, 1948)

Gen Sir Douglas David Gracey (February 11, 1948 -- January 16, 1951)

Field Marshal Ayub Khan (January 16, 1951 -- October 26, 1958)

Gen Musa Khan (October 27, 1958 -- June 17, 1966)

Gen Yahya Khan (June 18, 1966 -- December 20, 1971)

Gen Gul Hassan (December 20, 1971 -- March 3, 1972)

Gen Tikka Khan (March 3, 1972 -- March 1, 1976)

Gen Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq (April 1, 1976 -- August 17, 1988)

Gen Mirza Aslam Beg (August 17, 1988 -- August 16, 1991)

Gen Asif Nawaz (August 16, 1991 -- January 8, 1993)

Gen Wahid Kakar (January 8, 1993 -- December 1, 1996)

Gen Jehangir Karamat (December 1, 1996 -- October 6, 1998)

Gen Pervez Musharraf (October 7, 1998 -- November 28, 2007)

Gen Ashfaz Parvez Kiyani (November 28, 2007 -- present)