Musharraf mulls major changes in Pak Army top brass

President Pervez Musharraf is in the final stages of deciding on new appointments in the Pakistan Army before the October election.

President Pervez Musharraf is in the final stages of deciding on new appointments in the Pakistan Army as he prepares for his re-election on October 6, a move that may lead the embattled General to step down as army chief.

General Musharraf visited the General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi on Wednesday after announcing on Tuesday to quit the top military office on being re-elected as the president for another term.

The Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) has been changed while corps commanders of Karachi and Lahore are being replaced beside the appointment of two four-star generals within a fortnight to fill the posts of the Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC) and the Vice Chief of the Army Staff (VCOAS), The News daily reported.

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Highly placed sources said that the president had initiated consultations and evaluation process for the imminent changes in the Army, and had assured his commanders that the changes would be made on merit alone and in the best interest of the country and the institution, it reported.

Three major generals are being promoted to lieutenant general. The Director General Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Chief of the General Staff (CGS), Corps Commander 10 Corps, Director General Strategic Planning Division (SPD) will have new appointments as the planned reshuffle will necessitate it, the daily said quoting sources.

The slot of the DGMO is considered to be the most important assignment from the point of view of operations.

Three out of seven former DGMOs became the army chiefs including General Pervez Musharraf, General Jehangir Karamat, and late General Asif Nawaz Janjua.

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Major General Muhammad Liaquat, who is currently the commander of 9 Div, has been appointed DG Rangers, Sindh.

Major General Nadeem Taj, Director General Military Academy, Kakul, is being promoted to the rank of Lt. General and being assigned to an important and sensitive slot, the report said.

He had been Director General Military Intelligence (DGMI) and also served as General Musharraf’s Military Secretary (MS). General Taj was with General Musharraf in the plane on October 12, 1999 as his MS during the journey from Colombo back home.

Lt General Shafaatullah Shah, Corps Commander Lahore, who succeeded General Taj as MS to the President, is among the front-runners for three important posts supposed to fall vacant early next month as a result of the forthcoming changes and elevations, sources pointed out.

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The incumbent DG ISI Lt General Ashfaq Pervez Kiani, Commander 10 Corps Lt. General Tariq Majeed and CGS GHQ Lt General Salahuddin Satti are being considered for elevation to the rank of four-star generals.

The incumbent CJCSC General Ehsan-ul-Haq and VCOAS General Ahsan Saleem Hayat, will also call it a day in the second week of the next month. They have already started making farewell calls, sources said.