PAKISTAN:President Pervez Musharraf yesterday named Pakistan's spy chief his successor as head of the army, smoothing the way for his own transition from military to civilian president in coming weeks.
Lieut-Gen Ashfaq Kiyani, head of the powerful Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) agency, will become deputy chief of Pakistan's 600,000-strong, nuclear-armed military on Monday.
Gen Musharraf has promised to retire as chief of army staff by November 15th, provided he wins a controversial presidential poll scheduled for Saturday. Once he steps down, Gen Kiyani, a chain-smoking, golf-loving soldier who enjoys the respect of fellow officers and western diplomats, will take over.
The move is part of a carefully orchestrated but risky strategy by Gen Musharraf. By surrounding himself with loyalists, he hopes to retain the influence he has built since snatching power in a 1999 coup.
He also hopes to defuse the political opposition to his re-election through a series of carefully timed moves. Yesterday his government announced it would quash corruption charges against the self-exiled former prime minister Benazir Bhutto.
Dropping the cases is a key demand of Ms Bhutto, who has been in powersharing talks with Gen Musharraf for months. Her party is due to meet today to consider whether to boycott Saturday's vote. Some hope she will order her party to resign from parliament - as about 80 politicians from other parties did yesterday - in an effort to embarrass Gen Musharraf.
His successor-apparent, Gen Kiyani, is regarded as a professional soldier and a capable political operator. From a modest background, he rose through the ranks and polished his training with the US military at Fort Leavenworth.
"He's got a good personality and is a good soldier. It's a correct promotion," said Talat Masood, a retired general and analyst.
"Very down-to-earth, an absolutely delightful gentleman," said Taimur Hasan, of the Pakistan Golf Federation, where Gen Kiyani has been president since 2003.
But the army that Gen Kiyani is to command faces a crisis. In the past month suicide bombers have targeted the ISI and an elite commando group. Another 100,000 regular and paramilitary soldiers deployed to Waziristan have become mired in an unpopular, rudderless fight against Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters.
The army is negotiating the freedom of 213 soldiers who were kidnapped in the tribal belt on August 30th, having apparently surrendered without a fight. Yesterday two soldiers were killed and another 22 kidnapped outside Bannu, not far away, agencies reported.
"They've taken a lot of hits," said a western military official familiar with operations. "They don't seem to have a solid strategy . . . They are not very well-trained, they are risk averse and they don't like to be seen to fail."
Gen Kiyani will also have to fend off American pressure for greater results. The US reimburses Pakistan for its operations in Waziristan to the tune of $85-$100 million a month, an expensive operation that is coming under increasing scrutiny in Washington.
As head of the ISI, Gen Kiyani has already worked closely with western allies, helping the US hunt al-Qaeda commanders and aiding British agents seeking Pakistani-British militants. But the ISI has suffered criticism from human rights groups for the abduction and torture of hundreds of terror suspects in recent years. In some cases CIA and British intelligence (MI6) have allegedly colluded in the abuses.
US and British intelligence agents have questioned suspects at safe houses in Islamabad and Lahore where mistreatment is common, according to testimony from former detainees. Rangzaib Ahmed, a British citizen of Pakistani origin currently facing trial in Britain, says he had his fingernails removed by the ISI during questioning by British officials.
Gen Musharraf has started preparations to move from an army house in Rawalpindi to the presidential residence in Islamabad. He will hope to retain a hotline with Gen Kiyani. The spy chief is already well versed in politics, having recently flown to London for talks with Ms Bhutto.
But Gen Musharraf will also be mindful of history: several Pakistani presidents have appointed apparently friendly army chiefs, only to be toppled by them later.