Gen. Kayani among world’s most influential people: Time

[Imran Khan]

Gen. Kayani among world’s most influential people: Time


NEW YORK, May 1 (APP): General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, Chief of staff of the Pakistan Army, has been named in a list of 100 most influential people in the world by Time, a leading American magazine. The list also includes international figures like US President Barack Obama, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, German Chancellor Angela Markel and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al‑Maliki.

Among women leaders are: American First Lady Michelle Obama; US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton; Saudi Arabia’s first woman minister Nora al‑Faiz; Republican Party’s vice presidential candidate in 2008, Sarah Palin; and an Afghan woman activist Surraya Pakzad.

The only military leader figuring in the list is Gen. David Mckiernan, commander of the US‑led coalition troops in Afghanistan.

The annual Time 100 list was published in the latest issue of Time magazine which hit the news‑stands on Friday.

Also on the list are a number professionals in various fields, including the Indian musician, A. R. Rahman.

Gen. Kayani, 57, who is placed at No. 19 on the list—a step ahead of President Obama—is Admiral Mike Mullen, the top military office’ of the United State.

In a writeup, Admiral Mullen, the chairman of U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, said of Gen. Kayani, “Here is a man with a plan, a leader who knows where he wants to go. He seemed to understand the nature of the extremist threat inside Pakistan, recognized that his army wasn’t ready to meet that threat and had already started working up solutions.

“So far he’s done everything he told me he would do. He said he would provide the Frontier Corps with material support and strong leaders. He did it. He said he would send more Pakistani army troops to the northwest border region. He sent nearly 2,000. He said he would use those troops to go after alQaeda and extremist groups in Bajur and the Swat Valley. They have mounted several operations in just the past few months.

“There’s much more to do, of course. But I also think it’s important to look at what Kayani hasn’t done. For starters, he hasn’t let the army meddle in politics. Kayani helped foster a peaceful outcome to last year’s constitutional crisis, but he did it in a way that was totally in keeping with his military responsibilities.

 

[Elmo]

Hi, here's an excerpt from a profile carried in a local magazine here. It was published in October 2007. Found it interesting... I have tried to shorten it up so as not to make it boring...

OVER TO YOU, PERVEZ

For an introverted man who keeps a distinctly low profile, General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani has landed exactly where he is least comfortable – in full glare of the public. In the next few weeks, the glare can only get sharper if Musharraf sticks to his word and makes way for the new vice chief of army staff to take over as the numero uno sometime before November 15. He will, surely, then be catapulted into the eye of the storm.
[Para omitted here...]

The 57-year-old Kayani was born to a middle-class family in Jhelum a central Punjab district known for producing army recruits. No wonder then army wallahs joke that “beneath every stone in Jhelum, you can find a colonel, at the very least”. Kayani’s family bears testimony to this tradition: his father was a junior commissioned officer, known as NCO (non-commissioned officer), while his brother and his sister’s husband retired from the army as brigadiers.
[Para omitted here...]

A committed professional, Kayani was a “natural for the G group”, according to his contemporaries in the army. “There are three types of officers in the army: G, A and Q. Those who are taken into the G group are the cream of the crop....[skipped][Para omitted here...]

His first taste of politics, however, came when he became the Deputy Military Secretary to Benazir Bhutto during her first stint in power in 1988. In fact, it is because of this past association with her that he is believed to have played a role in the recent dialogue between Musharraf and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader.

Over a decade later, he landed the highly coveted appointment of Director General (Military Operations) or DG (MO). ...[skipped] His adept handling of the [waziristan] crises paved the way for his promotion in 2003: Kayani was elevated to lieutenant general’s or three-star general’s rank and made commander of the powerful 10-Corps at Rawalpindi.
[Para omitted here...]

It was here that Kayani came into the limelight within the military when he was assigned to investigate the assassination bids on Musharraf in December 2003. “That was a difficult assignment,” says an army official privy to the entire event. [portion skipped] Kayani led the team successfully and interestingly one of his close aides throughout was Colonel Anwarul Haq, brother of pop singer Abrarul Haq, who was with the ISI at that time. “Immense resources were placed at the team’s disposal. They literally got what they asked for,” says the official.
[Para omitted here...]

But those who have worked under him during his tenure as a spy chief say that when he took over the agency he ruffled feathers and many in the ISI considered him unsuitable for the job. “Given that he had come from the operations side of the military and that he is professionally very demanding, he was not appreciated by many in the agency,” says a former ISI official. He wanted quick results in an organisation where tradition deems that newly appointed chiefs do nothing for six months except understand the workings of the “Aabpara Empire” (ISI headquarters). But Kayani was not interested in moving slowly.

For some this appointment had disqualified Kayani for the biggest position in the military. Generally, the intelligence chiefs are not considered for the post of chief of army staff, because they know too much about their fellow officers. However, on the plus side, it was his stint at the ISI that allowed Kayani to work closely with the United States to track down al-Qaeda operatives: he delivered Abu Faraj al-Libbi, at a time when the group was planning attacks in Britain and the US. This is one reason, it is being said, that the Americans are happy with Kayani’s recent elevation. They already enjoy a working relationship with him and consider him to be a moderate.

Nonetheless, the tenure at the ISI proved to be a controversial one because it was under him that the agency earned further notoriety for the missing people. The ISI faced an embarrassing moment when its officials were summoned by the judges of the Supreme Court. But Kayani’s supporters point out that the agency was unfairly held responsible for all the missing people. [skipped]

At the same time these crises thrust Kayani into the limelight, preparing him for his future role. In fact, an indication of what lay in store for him came with his involvement in the dialogue with Bhutto, which, made sense to political observers when his latest promotion was announced. However, it is noteworthy that while the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) has stated that Kayani’s elevation was made on the basis of seniority and merit, he superseded the most senior three-star general, Lt-Gen Khalid Ahmed Kidwai, director general of the Strategic Plan Division. But to Kidwai’s disadvantage he had never commanded any division or corps, which is, generally, seen as a pre-requisite for the chief of army staff.
[Para omitted here...]

Indeed, many who have worked for him speak highly of his abilities as a commander. Some suggest that he is the natural choice as army chief because Musharraf needs a strong commander to extricate the military out of the quagmire it is getting sucked into.
[skipped]

Balancing the needs of the army against the demands of the US is a daunting task and will test Kayani’s mettle in the days to come. And this time around, it will not be easy for him to focus on his job quietly, away from prying eyes.

 

[Elmo]

Oops...it's still really long ...

 

[Zob]

wonder what do they want from our Chief now.....everytime they want something they make our guys the hero...if i am not wrong ZARDARI was depicted as a hero who is fighting the "ISI" and defending democracy...

 

[Xeric]

Sir Kiyani the Great!

.......Mark Mazzetti wrote of Kayani for the NY Times:

Until late last year, when he was elevated to the command of the entire army, the Pakistani spymaster who had been running the I.S.I. was Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani. American officials describe this smart and urbane general as at once engaging and inscrutable, an avid golfer with occasionally odd affectations. During meetings, he will often spend several minutes carefully hand-rolling a cigarette. Then, after taking one puff, he stubs it out.

The grumbling at the C.I.A. about dealing with Pakistan’s I.S.I. comes with a certain grudging reverence for the spy service’s Machiavellian qualities. Some former spies even talk about the Pakistani agency with a mix of awe and professional jealousy.

One senior C.I.A. official, recently retired, said that of all the foreign spymasters the C.I.A. had dealt with, General Kayani was the most formidable and may have earned the most respect at C.I.A. headquarters in Langley, Va. The soft-spoken general, he said, is a master manipulator.

“We admire those traits,” he said.

 

[Patriot]

But those who have worked under him during his tenure as a spy chief say that when he took over the agency he ruffled feathers and many in the ISI considered him unsuitable for the job. “Given that he had come from the operations side of the military and that he is professionally very demanding, he was not appreciated by many in the agency,” says a former ISI official. He wanted quick results in an organisation where tradition deems that newly appointed chiefs do nothing for six months except understand the workings of the “Aabpara Empire” (ISI headquarters). But Kayani was not interested in moving slowly.

We really need these type of officers and i hope next COAS will also stay away from Politics like Genera Kiyani.

 

[Zob]

CHIEF SAAB is the best.....he is the silver lining for pakistan currently in its stage of history...

 

[Elmo]

@ Saad Ahmed: We really need these type of officers and i hope next COAS will also stay away from Politics like Genera Kiyani.

I doubt that General Kayani is staying away from politics for a principled stand. It’s common knowledge that the army cannot afford another intrusion into the workings of the government.
On March 16, when Sharif and Co. started steering towards the capital, the PM phoned him up to curb the same. Kayani is said to have replied: “There are only two ways I can control the situation. I can either open fire on 5,000 people demonstrating in Lahore or stage a coup — I’d rather go for the former than the latter.” Kayani is well-aware of his limitations. With its hands tied and its failure to fight the rag-tag army of the Taliban, the army cannot afford to be near-sighted. It’s acting wise for the time being — but given the history of this country, it won’t be long before it meddles again

So to strike, it doesn’t take much ammo. “Let us not forget former COAS Gen Wahid Kakar who in 1993, without raising a stick or moving a brigade saw off, calmly and peacefully, both president and prime minister.” (Ardeshir Cowasjee, here we go again, March 1, 2009 — not a great columnist but just wanted to give an example).


What I found interesting in the profile were certain assertions by the writer.

The profile states, that (a) His tenure at the ISI proved to be a controversial one because it was under him that the agency earned further notoriety for the missing people. The ISI faced an embarrassing moment when its officials were summoned by the judges of the Supreme Court. (b) his adept handling of the [waziristan] crises paved the way for his promotion in 2003

Both the missing people and the Waziristan operations are disdainful. As to the US supporting him, it’s more to do with his image as a liberal: the same that general Musharraf exuded. Not again would the US want to side with the likes of General Ziaul Haq.

Since his oath-taking in October-November 2007, can we say that Kayani has been able to prove his mettle? Is Kayani truly worth all the adulation…