Pakistan names new intelligence chief in military reshuffle

From M & C.

Pakistan has appointed a new chief of the country's main spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) in a major reshuffle of the senior military leadership. Lieutenant General Ahmed Shuja Pasha was appointed ISI director general, according to an army statement issued late Tuesday. He will replace Lieutenant General Nadeem Taj, a loyalist of former president Pervez Musharraf, who resigned in August to avoid impeachment. Army Chief General Ishfaq Parvez Kayani also appointed, with the approval of Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani, a new chief of general staff and replaced four of the nine corps commanders. The move is also to strengthen Kayani's grip over his forces. The reshuffle comes at a time when Islamabad has intensified its push against the Islamist extremist Taliban and al-Qaeda militants in the lawless tribal region along the Afghan border.

One can only hope this reshuffle is intent on making the Pakistani military more prone to battle isurgents as opposed to siding with them. Given that these appointments were approved by PM Gilani, it appears they are being done to do just that, namely, weed out individuals supportive of isurgents and bring commanders in to battle insurgents. The US did something similar in Iraq until it came up with the Petraeus/Odierno combination in Iraq which changed the way American forces battled insurgents in Iraq.

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Stay away from politicians, Pak army chief tells officers

From the Central Chronicle.

Pakistan Army chief Ashfaq Pervez Kayani has directed all officers of the force to refrain from meeting politicians and indulging in politics. Kayani, who took over in November after President Pervez Musharraf doffed his military uniform, has written to his juniors, including commanding officers of key formations, that they had "no role to play in politics" and that soldiers should heed their professional responsibilities. He said the prime role of the armed forces is to carry out their professional duties and they should not indulge in the political affairs of the country....

When General Kayani took over, he declare 2008 the "Year of the Soldier" to address low morale in units. One way to bring up low morale is to train. As such,

Chairing his first meeting of the Corps Commanders earlier this month, Kayani said the "will of the people and their support" is decisive. He also called for the army to focus on training and operational preparedness to tackle internal and external threats.

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