Musharraf Shuffles Pakistan's Military Ranks in Preparation for His Possible Departure

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September 21, 2007 11:23 AM

Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf shuffled the top ranks of the country's military today, giving the world a sense of what a post-Musharraf army might look like, a key issue for the Pentagon, which considers the Pakistani leader a crucial ally in the war on terror. 

Musharraf promoted several faithful subordinates into key positions and freed up his two most trusted deputies apparently to step into the No. 2 and 3 slots.

Analysts say the appointments indicate Musharraf plans to stick to his promise -- made by his lawyer this week before the country's Supreme Court -- to relinquish his post as army chief if re-elected president by the legislature next month.

"These are all trusted deputies of Musharraf," said Talat Massood, a retired defense secretary for Pakistan. "We can expect they will continue to support him and continue his policy of supporting the war on terror."

Musharraf promoted Maj. Gen. Nadeem Ijaz Taj to run the spy agency, Inter Services Intelligence (ISI). And he promoted Maj. Gen. Mohsin Kamal to take over the 10th Corp based in Rawalpindi. Both men are now lieutenant generals, according to a statement from the military's public affairs office.

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Their promotions free up the current ISI chief, Lt. Gen. Ashfaq Ahmed Kiani, and the current Rawalpindi Corp Commander, Lt. Gen. Tariq Majid, to rise to the positions of vice chief, the No. 2 slot, and chief of general staff, the No. 3 job.

"No surprises here," said a Western official of the appointments. "He's trying to line up his best men ahead of the elections."

Kiani and Majid are widely considered Musharraf's most trusted lieutenants, "his go-to guys" as one Western diplomat put it. Senior officials in the army have told foreign diplomats these two men are expected to be promoted into the top slots, but that Musharraf is keeping it close to his chest which man gets which post.

The two men who currently hold the No. 2 and 3 jobs -- Gen. Eshan Saleem Hyatt and Lt. Gen. Eshan ul Haq -- are set to retire on Oct. 7, the day after the National Assembly will elect a president for a five-year term. Musharraf is seeking re-election, and his aides have warned he will not step down as army chief if he is not re-elected.

Analysts and Western officials say both men are moderates, with favorable views of the West and of America. Gen. Kiani, an avid golfer who's considered the most intellectual of Pakistan's senior officers, studied at Fort Leavenworth, Kan.

Gen. Majid was Musharraf's star pupil years ago at the Command and Staff College in Quetta, the rigorous post-graduate program all Pakistani officers must pass through if they want to rise above the rank of colonel. He fits the bill, say insiders, both in terms of his age and past experience, to take over the army.

Lt. Gen. Nadeem Taj, who moves into the position of spy chief, is also a close confidant of Musharraf and related to the president's wife. The ISI chief would also work very closely with U.S. officials, and NATO commanders running the coalition effort in neighboring Afghanistan. 

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