Musharraf Steps Down

Musharraf Steps Down

 

 

Washington Post

Musharraf Steps Down as Head of Pakistani Army

 

 

Gen. Musharraf, 64, handed over his post to vice-army chief and retired from the army at an elaborate ceremony on a vast parade ground inside army headquarters.

 

Musharraf to take oath Thursday as Pakistan's civilian president for next five years

 

The army has been my life. The army has been my passion. The army has been my pride. The system has to carry on, there is a time when everyone has to go- Musharraf

 

Tomorrow I will no longer be in command, but I am happy I spent these 46 years in very excellent manner- Musharraf

 

Musharraf formally handed over the symbol of army command a long bamboo stick to General Ashfaq Kiyani-

 

General Kayani is understood to want to remove the army from the forefront of politics and concentrate on military concerns- NYT

 

 

The Comparison- Newsweek

America's uneasy relationship with Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf brings to mind another compromised former ally, the Shah of Iran. It's been nearly 30 years since the shah flew into exile in 1979, but Musharraf's frantic struggle to regain control of his country has raised scary memories of that time.

 

 

Reuters on General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani

 

* Born into one of northern Punjab province's largest and most powerful clans, Kayani, 55, studied at a military college in his home region of Jhelum, before training at the U.S. army's Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and the National Defense College in Islamabad.

 

* After fighting as a lieutenant in the 1971 war against India, Kayani slipped into politics as deputy military secretary to Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto in 1988. He won accolades for sensitively overseeing troop movements in a tense 2001-2002 border standoff between Pakistan and India as the army's chief operational commander.

 

* In September 2003, Kayani was promoted to command the army's elite 10 Corps in the garrison town of Rawalpindi. The chain smoker headed investigations into two December 2003 assassination attempts against Musharraf, securing several convictions, before being appointed director-general of the powerful Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) spy agencyin October 2004.

 

* Closely involved in Pakistan's anti-terrorism initiatives, the low-profile military man is said to be well-regarded by U.S. counterparts. His promotion to general and appointment as vice army chief in early October came as part of Musharraf's planned transition to civilian leader.

 

• This year, Kayani was involved in inconclusive negotiations with Bhutto on a power-sharing deal whereby Musharraf would continue as civilian president and Bhutto, Kayani's former boss, returned to politics. Seen as largely apolitical, Kayani is also president of the Pakistan Golf Federation with a handicap of 18, according to Pakistan-focused blog The Insider Brief.

 

 

 

 

 

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