Ashfaq Parvez Kayani
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| Ashfaq Parvez Kayani | |
|---|---|
| born April 1952 (age 55) | |
| Nickname | Kayani |
| Place of birth | Jhelum, Punjab, Pakistan |
| Allegiance |  Pakistan |
| Service/branch | Pakistan Army |
| Years of service | 1971– |
| Rank | General |
| Unit | Infantry (Baloch Regiment) |
| Commands held | 12th Infantry Division (Murree) DGMO (Military Operations) X Corps (Rawalpindi) DG Inter-Services Intelligence Vice Chief of Army Staff Chief of Army Staff |
| Battles/wars | Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 2001-2002 India-Pakistan standoff |
| Awards | Hilal-e-Imtiaz (Military) Hilal-e-Imtiaz Nishan-e-Imtiaz (Military) |
General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani (Urdu: اشفاق پرویز کیانی ) (also spelled Pervez Kiani or Kiyani; born April 1952, Gujar Khan, Punjab) is a Pakistani general and the current Chief of Army Staff of the Pakistan Army. Kayani replaced Pervez Musharraf as the leader of the army on November 28, 2007. Kayani is the former director of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence, and former Director General of Military Operations.
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[edit] Personal
Kayani is a Sunni Muslim and belongs to a martial tribe called Gakhars. He grew up in a working-class family as the son of a junior officer from Jhelum side of Gujar Khan, a tehsil in which has parts in the district of Rawalpindi and District Jhelum. He is described as a soft-spoken intellectual who is apolitical, and disciplined.[1] A chain smoker as well as a keen golfer,[2] he is currently president of the Pakistan Golf Association. Kayani is married and has two children, a son and a daughter.[3]
[edit] Army career
Kayani is a graduate of Military College Jhelum (MCJ) and the Pakistan Military Academy (PMA), Kakul and was commissioned in the Pakistan Army in 29 August, 1971 in the Infantry's Baloch Regiment as an infantryman. He is a graduate of the Command & Staff College, Quetta; the Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas; and the National Defence College, Islamabad, where he holds a masters degree in War Studies. During his career in the army, he has commanded an Infantry Battalion, an Infantry Brigade, an Infantry Division and the prestigious Rawalpindi Corps.[4]
[edit] Benazir's Secretary and DGMO
Kayani rose to eventually serve Benazir Bhutto as her deputy military secretary during her first stint as prime minister in 1988-1990. He also served as the General Officer Commander (GOC) 12th Infantry Division stationed in Murree, deployed all over the Line of Control and which comes under the X Corps (Rawalpindi).
Kayani's career progressed and he went on to serve as Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) from December 2000 to September 2003. It was during his tenure as DGMO that the intense military standoff of 2001-2002 between Pakistan and India took place. Reportedly, Kayani only slept a few hours a night during that period as he diligently oversaw the army’s mobilization and preparedness on the border.[2]
[edit] Corps Commander Rawalpindi
Kayani was promoted as Lieutenant General in September 2003, and was trusted with the command of the X Corps in Rawalpindi, in place of Lt. Gen. Syed Arif Hasan. The promotion indicated Musharraf's significant trust in Kayani, since an army chief cannot build an army coup without the help of the X Corps commander, with Rawalpindi being the twin city of Pakistan's capital, Islamabad. Kayani led the corps until October 2004, when he was transferred to the ISI as its chief, being replaced by Lt. Gen. Salahuddin Satti.
During Kayani's tenure at the X Corps, he led the successful investigation of the two back-to-back suicide attacks against Musharraf in December 2003. It is believed that Kayani won the trust of Musharraf after the investigation, and a prelude to Kayani's promotion to the sensitive position of ISI chief.[5]
[edit] Inter-Services Intelligence
In October 2004, Ashfaq Kayani was made the director general of Inter-Services Intelligence, in place of General Ehsan ul Haq, who proceeded to the chairmanship of Joint Chiefs of Staff as a four-star general. Kayani led the ISI during a bleak period, with insurgencies in Waziristan and Balochistan, AQ Khan's nuclear proliferation scandal, and waves of suicide attacks throughout Pakistan emanating from the northwestern tribal belt. In his final days at the ISI, he also led the talks with Benazir Bhutto for a possible power sharing deal with Musharraf. In October 2007, after three years, he was replaced at the ISI by Lt. Gen. Nadeem Taj, another Musharraf loyalist.[6]
[edit] Chief of Army Staff
In October 2007, Kayani was promoted as a full general, and made the Vice Chief of Army Staff. He took over as the new army chief of Pakistan Army after Musharraf's retirement on November 28, 2007.[7] The ceremony was held at the sports stadium near Army headquarters, Rawalpindi. Kayani is the first officer in the history of Pakistan who held the position of DG ISI and then went on to become the COAS. The last time a Director General of the ISI was to be made army chief in 1999, the Army staged a bloodless coup to reinstate the proposed outgoing Chief of Army Staff, General Pervez Musharraf.
[edit] Withdrawal of military from civilian government
In January 2008 General Kayani passed a directive which ordered military officers not to maintain contacts with politicians.
On 13th February 2008 it was made public that General Kayani ordered the withdrawal of military officers from all of Pakistan's government civil departments. It was an action that reversed the policies of his predecessor, President Musharraf. It was welcomed by President Musharraf’s critics, who have long demanded that the military distance itself from politics. The Pakistani media reported that the army officers would be withdrawn from 23 wide-ranging civil departments, including the National Highway Authority, National Accountability Bureau, Ministry of Education, and Water and Power Development Authority.
A comment from Major General Athar Abbas who is a spokesman for the Pakistan Army mentioned in an interview on the same day that General Kayani’s decision to recall military officers from civil departments was taken the previous week and that the process would take between 2 to 6 months to complete.[8][9]
[edit] Pakistan general elections 2008
On 7th March 2008 General Kiyani confirmed that Pakistan's armed forces will stay out of politics and support the new government. General Kiyani told a gathering of military commanders in the garrison city of Rawalpindi that The army fully stands behind the democratic process and is committed to playing its constitutional role. The comments made were after the results of Pakistan general elections of 2008 where the Pakistan Peoples Party won the election and began forming a coalition government who were opposed to General Pervez Musharraf.[10]
[edit] References
- ^ BBC profile of Gen Ashfaq Kiani. Retrieved on 2007-11-28.
- ^ a b Kayani's Next Role and Renewed Negotiations. Retrieved on 2007-09-23.
- ^ Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan
- ^ New VCOAS and CJCSC. Retrieved on 2007-10-02.
- ^ The Next Musharraf by Ron Moreau and Zahid Hussain. Retrieved on 2007-10-02.
- ^ Amir, Ayaz. Is change in the air?. Retrieved on 2007-04-17.
- ^ Gen. Kayani takes Pak Army command. Retrieved on 2007-11-28.
- ^ New Pakistan Army Chief Orders Military Out of Civilian Government Agencies, Reversing Musharraf Policy. Retrieved on 2008-02-12.
- ^ Pakistan military withdraws officers from civilian duties. Retrieved on 2008-02-12.
- ^ Bloomberg.com: India & Pakistan
| Military offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Lt. General Ehsan ul Haq |
Director General of the Inter-Services Intelligence 2004–2007 |
Succeeded by Lt. General Nadeem Taj |
| Preceded by General Ahsan Saleem Hyat |
Vice Chief of Army Staff 2007 |
Post abolished |
| Preceded by General Pervez Musharraf |
Chief of Army Staff 2007– |
Incumbent |
