NYT : Musharraf Puts Ally in Key Post

Musharraf Puts Ally in Key Post

By CARLOTTA GALL | September 21, 2007

PESHAWAR, Pakistan, Sept. 21 — The Pakistani president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, promoted a close ally to the important post of intelligence chief today, shoring up his power base as he prepares to run for another term as president and possibly resign from his position as army chief in coming weeks.

The appointment of Nadeem Taj to the post of director general of the Inter-Services Intelligence, Pakistan’s main intelligence agency, was one of a batch of six major generals being promoted to posts of lieutenant general.

Two more appointments, to the most senior positions of vice chief of army staff and chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, are also expected in coming days as the incumbents are set to retire Oct. 7.

The appointment of General Taj is being seen as a clear move by General Musharraf to ensure that allies hold the positions of power when and if he relinquishes his own military post of chief of army staff.

General Taj has served as General Musharraf’s military secretary and most recently as the head of military intelligence. He is seen as one of the most trusted allies of General Musharraf and is reportedly related by marriage to General Musharraf’s wife.

One of the other promotions was of Maj. Gen. Mohsin Kamal to commander of the 10th Army Corps, which is considered one of the most important positions in the army since it commands troops based just south of the capital near army headquarters in Rawalpindi.

The promotion of General Taj and General Kamal appears to point the way for the current intelligence chief, Lt. Gen. Ashfaq Kiyani, and the Tenth Army Corps commander, Lt. Gen. Tariq Majeed, to move into the top two posts in the army when the current holders retire on Oct. 7.

General Musharraf, 64, has said he will resign his military post if elected for another term as president in elections by national and provincial assemblies on Oct. 6.

If he does, the vice chief of army staff would be expected to become the chief of army staff, and the position of vice chief, which was created by General Musharraf, would be scrapped.

General Musharraf has derived his power since mounting a military coup in 1999 from his command of the army and has continued to conduct much of his work as president in uniform from Army House in Rawalpindi.

In an indication of his reluctance to relinquish his army role, he has described his uniform as his “second skin.” His power is expected to diminish if he becomes a civilian president.

A group of opposition parties announced today after protests at the Supreme Court that they would resign their seats in Parliament on Sept. 29 over General Musharraf’s decision to run for election. By quitting their seats in both national and provincial assemblies, which elect the president, opposition leaders might not render the vote invalid, since the ruling coalition holds the majority, but they could undermine its credibility. Two other important opposition parties, the Pakistan Peoples Party of Benazir Bhutto and the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazlur Rehman, have not yet agreed to join the boycott.