Musharraf handpicks ‘loyal’ ex-ISI head Kayani as next Army chief

Pakistani president pervez musharraf made moves on Tuesday to smooth his re-election by appointing former ISI chief Ashfaq Pervez Kayani to succeed him as the Army Chief, while his government dropped graft charges against possible ally Benazir Bhutto.

Kayani's appointment as the army chief is the clearest indication yet that Musharraf will follow through with his promise to the Supreme Court and give up his uniform when he is re-elected as President.

Though no date was given for Lt Gen Kayani, a Musharraf loyalist who also enjoys good relations with Western military officials, to assume the post of Army Chief, officials said he would take up his new assignment once the President gives up his uniform. Kayani, who previously also held the post of military secretary to former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, has been involved in talks with her to bring about a political rapproachment with Musharraf. Kayani was accompanied by Musharraf for a meeting with Bhutto in Abu Dhabi two months ago.

Talat Masood, a retired general and defense analyst, said Kayani was considered one of Musharraf's most loyal and professional generals, who also enjoyed the confidence of junior officers. Musharraf made Kayani in charge of the investigation after two assassination attempts on his life in December 2003, incidents in which both al-Qaeda and some Army officers were implicated. In his memoir, In the Line of Fire, Musharraf praised Kayani's ability to get Pakistan's intelligence agencies to work together. "When Kayani got tough, the problems of coordination disappeared and the agencies started working like a well-oiled machine," Musharraf recalled.

A Western military official said foreign governments represented in Islamabad had a "comfortable" working relationship with Kayani, whose training included a stint at the US Command and General Staff College in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.

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