Pakistan said to appoint new military intelligence chief
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistani army chief General PervezKayani is appointing a new head of military intelligence, anewspaper reported on Tuesday, the first major reshuffle in themilitary since President Pervez Musharraf quit the army.
Musharraf, who seized power as a general in 1999, steppeddown as army chief in November to become a civilian presidentof the country, which has been ruled by the military for morethan half of the 60 years since its independence.
Top military appointments in the country are always closelywatched as Pakistan's intelligence agencies have long heldinfluence over successive governments as well as being accusedof meddling in the affairs of neighbouring Afghanistan andIndia.
The News reported that Major-General Muhammad Asif, whoserved as Pakistan's defence attache in Russia, is replacingMajor-General Nadeem Ijaz as director general of MilitaryIntelligence (MI).
Ijaz, a close confidante of Musharraf, has worked as headof MI for more than three years, the normal length of service.MI and the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) are the Pakistanimilitary's two main security agencies.
Military spokesmen were not immediately available forcomments.
A month before his retirement from the army, Musharrafappointed Lieutenant-General Nadeem Taj, a former head of MIand his former military secretary, as director-general of ISI.
"Obviously, as time goes by, he (Kayani) will be appointingpeople of his choice, those who are professionally sound andalso enjoy his confidence," said Talat Masood, a retiredgeneral and security analyst.
"At this time, these assignments are extremely vital forthe reason that they are also facing internal insurgency as thegreatest challenge," he said.
Nuclear-armed Pakistan is a major non-NATO U.S. ally. Itssupport is seen as crucial for the success of the Westernmilitary intervention in Afghanistan and the hunt for Osama binLaden and al Qaeda in tribal lands on the Afghan border.
Militants linked to al Qaeda and the Taliban have steppedup their campaign of attacks across Pakistan in recent monthsand hundreds of people have been killed.
The army's top medical officer and seven other people werekilled in a suicide bomb attack in Rawalpindi, where the armyheadquarters is based, on Monday.
Lieutenant-General Mushtaq Ahmed Baig was the most seniormilitary officer killed by militants to date.
A general election on Monday last week was meant tocomplete a transition back to civilian rule. Two oppositionparties that won the most seats are in the process of forming agovernment.
Kayani has taken several steps to keep the military out ofpolitics including ordering all officers out of posts in thecivil service, and barring officers from meeting politicians.