General Pervez Musharraf on Friday effected a major reshuffle of the top Army brass and chose a new ISI chief in a move seen as part of an effort to select his likely successor.
ISLAMABAD: Ahead of the October six Presidential poll in which he is seeking re-election in uniform, General Pervez Musharraf on Friday effected a major reshuffle of the top Army brass and chose a new ISI chief in a move seen as part of an effort to select his likely successor.
Musharraf promoted Gen Nadeem Taj as Lt Gen and made him Director General of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), the country's powerful spy agency. Gen Taj is to replace Lt Gen Pervez Ashfaq Kiyani as ISI chief.
In the shake-up, Musharraf also promoted six Major Generals as Lieutenant Generals as several slots of top Generals, including the number two post, the Vice Chief of Army and Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC), would fall vacant on October 7.
The nominee for the deputy Army Chief is expected to be the successor of Musharraf.
Gen Kiyani, who held the post of military secretary under former Premier Benazir Bhutto and is now involved in possible power-sharing deal talks between her and the President, is regarded as a top contender to be Musharraf's successor should he relinquish the post of Army Chief.
Gen Kiyani could be picked up for either the post of Vice Army Chief or CJCSC.
Gen Taj is also a close associate of Musharraf, who flew with him from Colombo to Karachi on the day of the military coup in October 1999 when the General seized power toppling the Nawaz Sharif government.
Musharraf gave an undertaking in the Supreme Court earlier this week that he would quit as Army Chief if re-elected as President.
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