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Kayani asserts control over Army

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani asserted control over the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) by appointing a new head to the powerful spy agency on Tuesday.

The appointment of Lt. Gen. Ahmed Shuja Pasha as Director-General of the ISI is part of the first big reshuffle in the Army since General Kayani took charge of the Army in November 2007 from Pervez Musharraf.

Lt. Gen. Pasha replaces Lt. Gen. Nadeem Taj, appointed by the former President just weeks before he stepped down as Army chief to make way for General Kayani.

The new appointment came when President Asif Ali Zardari, who heads Pakistan’s civilian power structure, is away in the U.S. The News reported that it was approved by Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, under whom the ISI functions, at least on paper.

In reality, the ISI, famously dubbed a “state within a state”, is part of Pakistan’s military set-up, a fact that General Kayani has cemented with the latest appointment.

Two months ago, when the government tried to bring the ISI under the civilian authority of the Interior Ministry, it had to withdraw the notification within hours under pressure from the Army.

The new appointee, who is known among military analysts as a “professional soldier” is taking over at a time when there is immense pressure on the government from the U.S. to “reform” the ISI, whose loyalties in the “war on terror” it suspects still partially lie with the Taliban.

In the U.S., Mr. Zardari reportedly met CIA chief Michael Hayden in New York, reportedly among those leading the call for overhauling the ISI.

It is not clear if Lt. Gen. Pasha’s appointment is in line with the changes the U.S. wants in the organisation, or if it is an assertion of independence by the General. Three weeks ago, the reticent Army chief, in his first public remarks ever on the “war on terror”, was harshly critical of unilateral American missile strikes and a ground incursion in Pakistani territory, and asked U.S. forces to keep out.

In his previous posting as Director-General Military Operations, Lt. Gen. Pasha was overseeing the ongoing offensives in the NWFP and tribal areas, including the latest operations in Bajaur. Lt. Gen. Taj, who is related to General (retd.) Musharraf, has been posted as commander of 30 Corps in Gujranwala, Punjab.

Aside from the change in the ISI, the reshuffle as a whole is being seen as General Kayani’s move to put his stamp on an Army that was long under General Musharraf, and put in place a team in line with his plans.

Four of the nine corps commanders have been changed and a new chief of general staff appointed. In all, Tuesday’s reshuffle saw 14 new appointments.

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