KAYANI'S BROTHER; PAKISTAN'S BREAKUP and NATO Route

Kayani, a man for many seasons
By Shuja Nawaz, July 23, 2010 Friday, July 23, 2010 - 2:37 PM Share

In a timely though perhaps overly dramatic move, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani of Pakistan announced last night on national television the extension of army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani for another three years beyond November this year, when his first term was to end. Timely, since any further delay in announcing it would have led to further speculation and confusion about what was to happen. Dramatic, since the normal manner would have been a press release from the Inter Services Relations Directorate.

But then this is Pakistan and anything to do with the army chief makes headlines. And this announcement further strengthens the view that the army continues to be a key player even as democracy struggles to establish itself in a country that has been ruled for more than half its life by the military.

This is the first time a civilian government has extended an army chief for a full term. In the past, extensions have been either short, given by military rulers to themselves or, in the case of the first military ruler, Ayub Khan, to an ineffectual army chief with no independent power base. Benazir Bhutto sought to break with tradition when she offered an extension to General Abdul Waheed in 1996 but he refused it. Kayani took pains to convey the impression that he would not seek an extension nor negotiate for one. It appears that the government made him an offer he could not refuse.

Kayani is widely regarded as a quiet, professional soldier, who has helped transform the army in his tenure from a largely conventional force to one that is effectively fighting an irregular war inside its own borders. His new tenure gives him a rare opportunity to continue the transformation of the Pakistan into army into a professional body ready to fight insurgencies and conventional enemies equally well. He maintains a low public profile and is seen as a thinking general. Compared with his predecessor, General Pervez Musharraf, who was tempestuous and rarely had time to read, Kayani is deliberate. From the outset, he stated a policy of keeping the army out of politics, a policy that he tried to maintain even while selectively intervening in political squabbles as a referee. In recent months he has played a key role in moving the United States-Pakistan strategic dialogue onto a higher plane in terms of content and action.

While many inside and outside the country have welcomed the move as providing continuity and stability at a time of a raging insurgency and the rise of militancy inside Pakistan, others view it as a retrogressive move away from institutionalizing the selection and promotion system by linking it to personalities. Above all, it is a political move since the final decision was made by a politician. The United States has studiously avoided taking a public position but conversations with U.S. diplomats and military officials over the past few months indicated their deep interest in the future of General Kayani and a noticeable desire to see him remain at the helm of affairs in Pakistan. Yet Kayani on his part has showed no signs that he is or even is willing to be painted as "America's choice."

What are the implications of this extension? In the near term, it opens up the possibility of a routine promotion for the next senior most army general to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee when that position falls vacant in October 2010. There may well be an opportunity also to elevate one of the other service chiefs, from the air force or navy, to bolster inter-service cohesion. Within the army there has been some talk of a Vice Chief. This may make sense for such a large army but runs against the grain, since the Pakistan army has a steep pyramid structure. Authority rests in one man: the chief. When I suggested to my own brother, General Asif Nawaz, when he took over as Army chief in 1991 that he appoint a deputy chief to help manage the administrative details of his work, his reply was crisp: "Command is indivisible!" While not supported by historical evidence, this mantra has taken hold in Pakistan and was echoed by General Pervez Musharraf for different and perhaps political reasons, even though he appointed a Vice Chief of the Army Staff. But Musharraf made all the important decisions himself.

In the longer run, the career paths of many senior generals will be affected by this decision. Nearly a dozen operational three-stars (Lieutenant Generals) will retire before Kayani's new term expires in November 2013. These include a number of very bright and highly trained officers whom he has promoted to three star rank in April this year. As a result, the age and service gap between Kayani and his corps commanders in another two years will be quite large, as he digs down into the ranks order to promote new commanders. The nature and quality of the exchanges between him and his commanders will necessarily be affected, as was the case for General Zia ul-Haq and General Musharraf before him. Few junior officers will be willing to challenge the views of such a senior chief. Yet, he has exhibited a certain collegiality in his exchanges with fellow officers. If he can maintain that approach it will serve him in good stead. Politically, the country will of necessity see another election during Kayani's extended term, unless things deteriorate so dramatically internally or in relations with Pakistan's fractious neighbors that the army, under public pressure, mounts another coup. Here, Kayani will fight against historical precedent: in the past, an extension or the dismissal of a chief and replacement by a new chief invariably led to a coup, as mutual suspicions between the civilians and the military was compounded.

A positive spin-off from the extension in the eyes of some may be that a slew of Musharraf promotees will also retire between now and 2013 reducing the tension between them and others vying for the next rung. Some of these are strong professional officers but the taint of having been favored by Musharraf may remain. After all, Kayani too was a Musharraf choice. A major advantage that might accrue is that the certainty provided by the new term for the army chief will allow the civilian government to become confident in asserting itself in policy matters, knowing that the army chief will not overtly intervene in its affairs. This may help strengthen political institutions. At the same time, civilians must resist the temptation to turn to the army to lead the battle against militancy (a national endeavor not purely a military one) or to arbitrate differences on the political field.

These three years should also give Kayani time to assess the present Higher Defense Organization of Pakistan and perhaps come up with a more devolved structure for the army and a better system of command and control at the center. One possible scenario may include regional and centralized commands at four-star rank, appointed by the same authority who selects the service chiefs, and a Chairman of the Joint Chiefs with real powers to regulate all the services while acting as the main military advisor of the government. This approach has been taken by the United States and many other modern militaries, so it would hardly be unprecedented. Without having a stake in the chairman's position in 2013, Kayani may be able to provide a dispassionate plan for the government to decide, well in advance of the next round of promotions in 2013. Any proposal that he presents as a disinterested party will have credibility and will also help override the parochial concerns of the army relative to the other services in Pakistan.

All this will be against the backdrop of Pakistan's traditional rivalry with emerging superpower India to the east. Kayani would be key to any effort to reduce hostility and to open the eastern border to trade and traffic. He has already played a role in opening up to Afghanistan and perhaps positioning Pakistan to play a role in the reconciliation efforts of Afghan President Hamid Karzai.

The United States, as a key ally, must also understand that the army chief in Pakistan will think foremost about Pakistan's interests. To the extent that they have an interlocutor who knows them well, from his extensive U.S. training and contacts, the U.S. will benefit from a clear dialogue. Removing years of mistrust will take a major and longer-term effort. Officer exchanges will help. But most important will be steady provision of the best possible equipment to the Pakistani forces in their battle against insurgents and militants, with no underlying threats or overhanging waivers accompanying those transfers. That is what trust means.

Key to this entire enterprise is the man who will continue to head the Pakistan army beyond President Barack Obama's first term and into the term of the next elected government in Pakistan: General Kayani, truly now a man for many seasons.

Shuja Nawaz is Director of the South Asia Center of the Atlantic Council.

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Thursday, March 08, 2012
KAYANI'S BROTHER; PAKISTAN'S BREAKUP
General Kayani (third from the left)

In November 2011, Pakistan announced that NATO supply routes into Afghanistan were to be (temporarily) shut down.

Anonymous left the following comment on our post "THE PAKISTAN WAR":

1. General Kayani's brother is the biggest contractor for these NATO supplies.

So this shutting down is only a way for Kayani to ask for a bigger piece of the pie.

Any doubts about that should be removed after seeing this story:

Army has its eye on Nato supplies deal

(Of course this story does not tell the whole story and tries to give the impression that the Army -actually generals - were not benefitting from it so far which is complete b.s.)

Of course the army has issued a denial that is hilarious claiming the "army has no role whatsoever in Nato supplies...

The National Logistic Cell (NLC) is a government controlled 'Crisis Management Organisation'".

Now that is hilarious and a blatant LIE.

Of course NLC used to be run by the army till some Generals desided to put it in their pocket.

They are also behind ISAF/NATO container theft that the Supreme Court is looking into.

Pakistan, Peshawar
Pakistan by mountaintrekker2001

2. Let's also not forget that the supplies were never fully stopped and that too was a PR stunt so their "reopening" announcement was another lie by both the civilan government and the army.

(Their excuse for reopening it is BEYOND hilarious; they said they were opening them "on humanitarian basis").

3. That the Pakistani army is an arm of the US/CIA, of that their is no doubt.

They have already alienated the biggest province Balochistan with over 60 years of atrocities and today they are doing the same in the North Western province (recently renamed 'Khyber-Pakhtoonkhwa') by carrying out murder and mayham there under the guise of the War on Terror.

Yes, Pakistans breakup is in full swing and the guys implimenting it are the army and the current civilian leadership.

Rehman Malik

4. A point about Rehman Malik: Remember this guys last job was to safeguard just one person, i.e. Benazir Bhutto.

Well, you know how effective he was there.

And it is a fact that when she was attacked, Rehman Malik RAN AWAY.

So how was he punished?

He was make the Interior Minister, responsible for the security of 180 million people.

That he was such elevated was a demand of the U.S. that brought the current leadership into power too is a commonly accepted fact.


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Brother of Pak Army Chief Gen Ashfaq Kayani in India, bats for student exch

Farooq Kayani, brother of Pakistan's army chief Gen Ashfaq Kayani, today crossed into India through the land transit route of Attari border leading a delegation of school students.

Farooq Kayani is the Principal of a high school in Pakistan and is accompanied by his wife Syeda Kayani and 15 school staff members besides an equal number of students.

According to Assistant Customs Commissioner R.K. Duggal, Farooq Kayani and his team would spend the night at Dera Baba Jaimal Singh of Radha Soami sect at Beas and go to Chandigarh tomorrow before travelling to Shimla to take part in a scheduled program being organsied by the Snowar School.

During his stay in Chandirgarh, he may meet Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal.

Before going to Beas, Farooq visited the Golden Temple in Amritsar.

news.outlookindia.com | Brother of Pak Army Chief Gen Ashfaq Kayani in India


Pak army chief bro bats for student exchange

ATTARI: Pakistan army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani's brother and Murree's Lawrence College principal, Air Commodore (R) Farooq H Kayani, has called for teachers, students exchange programmes between India and Pakistan to promote brotherhood and peace. He said the two countries should also launch scholarship programmes for each other's students.

Kayani, who arrived at the Wagah border on Tuesday along with a 20-member delegation from Pakistan, would be the chief guest at Sanawar's Lawrence School foundation day on April 15.

"There should be more exchange programmes of teachers and students between the schools of two nations to forge friendlier ties and dispel misunderstandings," Kayani said.

"Misunderstandings will disappear if a Pakistani student has an Indian teacher and vice versa. These boys and girls will bridge the gap between the two nations."

He said the scholarship programme would enable students to live in each other's countries and help them understand ground realities.

He said the ice between the managements of Indian and Pakistani Lawrence institutes broke in 2004 when he led a delegation to Lawrence school in Lovedale, Ooty. "We developed an understanding after a series of meetings."

Pak army chief bro bats for student exchange - The Times of India

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U.S. generals, Pakistan army chief meet on NATO skirmish
Wed, Mar 28 15:43 PM EDT
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ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - The head of U.S. Central Command and the commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan met Pakistan's army chief on Wednesday in the first high-level military visit since a cross-border U.S. attack last November killed 24 Pakistani soldiers.

Their talks, announced by the Pakistani military, took place a day after U.S. President Barack Obama met Pakistani Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani in Seoul. He expressed hope that Pakistan's review of strained ties with Washington would respect U.S. security needs.

The Pakistani parliament is reviewing recommendations from its national security committee on future ties with Washington.

They include a halt to U.S. drone strikes on militants in northwestern Pakistan and the possible reopening of overland supply routes to NATO troops in Afghanistan.

The routes were suspended after the November 26 incident, which sparked rage across Pakistan.

Pakistani army chief General Ashfaq Kayani met on Wednesday with CentCom head General James Mattis and NATO Afghanistan commander General John Allen, Pentagon Press Secretary George Little said. Little declined to give details of the meeting.

U.S. officials would like Pakistan to reopen its border crossings with Afghanistan. Since the closure, NATO has had to use the costlier northern distribution route to ship supplies.

"We are hopeful that the ground supply routes will open in the near future. They are important to our effort in Afghanistan," Little said.

The Pakistani military said in a statement before the session that Kayani, Mattis and Allen would focus their discussions on the investigations into the November 26 incident.

"The meeting will also look at border security and coordination measures and how to improve them," a senior Pakistani military official told Reuters, requesting anonymity.

The official provided no further details on the meeting at Pakistani army headquarters in the garrison city of Rawalpindi.

Pakistan's cooperation is considered crucial to U.S. efforts to stabilize Afghanistan before most foreign combat troops withdraw at the end of 2014. Pakistan has strong traditional links with the Afghan Taliban and other militant groups.

(Reporting by Qasim Nauman; Editing by Ron Popeski and Todd Eastham)
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