KAYANI EXERCISES INFLUENCE WITH NEW MILITARY APPOINTMENTS

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 ISLAMABAD 003219



NOFORN

SIPDIS



E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/08/2018

TAGS: PGOV, MOPS, PINR, PTER, PK

SUBJECT: KAYANI EXERCISES INFLUENCE WITH NEW MILITARY

APPOINTMENTS



REF: A. (A) PESHAWAR 473 (B) ISLAMABAD 2380 (NOTAL)

B. (C) ISLAMABAD 3060 (NOTAL)



Classified By: Gerald M. Feierstein, for reasons 1.4 (b),(d).



1. (S/NF) Summary: In mid-September, Chief of Army Staff

General Kayani told visiting Chief of the Joint Chiefs

Admiral Mullen that he would use the Pakistani Army's regular

promotion and transfer season to increase his CONTROL over

military operations, particularly those of Inter-Services

Intelligence (ISI). Kayani identified Ahmed Shujaa Pasha and

Tariq Khan as his two most able Major Generals. On September

4, Khan was appointed as the new Inspector General of the

Frontier Corps. On September 29, seven Pakistani Major

Generals were promoted to Lieutenant General; within hours of

those promotions, the Army announced key senior leadership

transfers. Most notably, Pasha was promoted to Lieutenant

General and transferred from Director General of Military

Operations (DGMO) to Director General ISI Chief. Thus, while

not responding directly to the Mullen/Kappes request for ISI

reform, Kayani has replaced officers appointed by former

President Musharraf with men loyal to him. Khan is already

injecting much-needed vigor into the Frontier Corps. As

DGMO, Pasha certainly knows established ISI strategy and

tactics; if he initiates reforms, they will be directly

attributable to Kayani. Hopefully, Pasha may be more willing

to engage with his U.S. counterparts than former ISI Director

General Nadeem Taj and focus on counterterrorism initiatives

vice political machinations. End Summary.



2. (S/NF) On September 29, seven Pakistani Major Generals

(MG) were promoted to Lieutenant General (LtGen); within

hours, the Army announced key senior leader transfers (see

para 8 for specifics). While this was part of the Army's

regular promotion and transfer season, it enabled Chief of

Army Staff (COAS) General Kayani to replace officers selected

by former President and COAS Musharraf with men loyal to him.

Although the promotions and transfers technically were

blessed by PM Gilani, the personnel changes were all based on

Kayani's choices.



3. (C) The most notable change was the promotion of MG

Ahmed Shujaa Pasha and his transfer from Director General of

Military Operations (DGMO) to Director General of ISI. Pasha

will take over from LtGen Nadeem Taj, who was rotated out

after only one year. Taj had never seemed comfortable in his

role as intelligence chief and was reluctant to engage with

his U.S. counterparts; he has returned to infantry life in

command of 30 Corps in Gujranwala on the Indian border.



4. (C) As DGMO, MG Pasha played an integral role in

planning and overseeing the current anti-militant offensives

in Swat, Northwest Frontier Province, and in Bajaur Agency,

Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). Pasha also

worked to implement some of the peace negotiations with

tribal leaders/militants when that was GOP policy. As DGMO,

Pasha was well aware of ongoing ISI strategy and tactics

vis-a-vis the tribal areas, Afghanistan and India. Pasha also

served from 2001 to 2002 as a Contingent and Sector Commander

with the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone disarming and

reintegrating former rebel groups. Pasha graduated from the

National Defense College in Islamabad, Command and Staff

College in Quetta and the German Staff College in Hamburg,

Germany.



5. (S/NF) MG Javed Iqbal replaced Pasha as DGMO. A graduate

of the U.S. War College, Iqbal previously served as a liaison

officer in U.S. Central Command for two years. He served as

Commander of 111 Brigade, as Director of Military Operations

(Planning) at General Headquarters and attended executive

management (May 2005) and emergency response (May 2003)

seminars in the U.S. In 1989 Iqbal attended the Australian

Staff College for a year.



6. (C) Newly promoted LtGen Tahir Mehmood will take over as

Commander of the 10 Corps, garrisoned in Rawalpindi outside

the capital; historically, the 10 Corps has been tasked to

lead Pakistan's military coups. Mehmood previously served as

Commander of the SSG (Special Services Group). COAS Kayani



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selected the former 10 Corps Commander LtGen Mohsin Kamal to

serve as his personal military secretary.



7. (S) On September 4, Kayani chose MG Tariq Khan as

Inspector General of the Frontier Corps (IGFC) to replace MG

Alam Khattak. While Khattak was generally cooperative with

the U.S., he was not viewed as a particularly dynamic leader

of the FC. Khan is an ethnic Pashtun from Tank, Northwest

Frontier Province (NWFP); from 2005 to 2006, he served as the

Pakistan senior military representative to U.S. Central

Command. In his first days as IGFC, Khan announced he would

reorganize the FC into four command headquarters to increase

morale and unit autonomy, raise pay levels and introduce unit

rotations to ease combat fatigue (Ref A). Speaking at a

press conference September 26, Khan predicted that the GOP

would be able to regain CONTROL of Bajaur within a few

months; he characterized the fight in Bajaur as critical to

the success of Pakistan's anti-militancy campaign.



8. (U) Promotions and transfers:



--Promotions from MG to LtGen.: Tahir Mehsood, Shahid Iqbal,

Tanvir Tahir, Zahid Hussain, Ahmad Shuja Pasha, Mohammad

Mustafa Khan and Ayyaz Saleem Rana.



--Transfers: LtGen. Raza Muhammad, Corps Commander Bahwalpur

appointed to Director General Joint Staff Headquarters

LtGen. Muhammad Yousaf appointed 31 Corps Commander Bahwalpur

LtGen. Ahsan Azhar Hyat, Corps Commander Karachi appointed to

Inspector General of Training & Evaluation

LtGen. Shahid Iqbal appointed 5 Corps Commander Karachi

LtGen. Muhammad Zaki appointed Inspector General ARMS at

General Headquarters

LtGen. Nadeem Taj appointed 30 Corps Commander Gujranwala

LtGen. Mohsin Kamal appointed Military Secretary at General

Headquarters

LtGen. Tahir Mehmood appointed 10 Corps Commander Rawalpindi

LtGen. Muhammad Zahid Hussain appointed Quartermaster General

at General Headquarters

LtGen. Javed Zia appointed Adjutant General at General

Headquarters

LtGen. Ahmed Shujaa Pasha appointed DG ISI

LtGen. Muhammad Mustafa appointed Chief of General Staff at

General Headquarters

LtGen. Tanvir Tahir appointed Inspector General Communication

and IT at General Headquarters

LtGen. Ayyaz Salim Rana appointed Chairman Heavy Industries

Taxila



9. (U) In the recent reshuffle ISI director of Directorate C

(domestic operations) MG Nusrat Naeem and ISI director of

Directorate S (external operations) MG Asif Akhtar received

what local English-language press deemed "insignificant"

postings. Neither MG received promotions. Akhtar has become

the new Director General National Guard while press reports

noted Naeem is expected to receive a new position this week.



10. (S/NF) Comment: Kayani told CJCS Mullen in September

that he would use the Army's normal promotion and rotation

schedule to increase his CONTROL over military operations,

particularly those of ISI. Kayani identified Pasha and Khan

as his best two major generals, and he has now placed them in

two critical posts. Khan already is impressing us with his

initial command decisions. While not responding directly to

the CJCS Mullen/DDCIA Kappes request for ISI reform, Kayani

has taken a critical first step by replacing the recalcitrant

Taj with Pasha. From his role as DGMO, Pasha is no stranger

to ISI strategy and operations; if he initiates reforms, they

will be directly attributable to Kayani. Likewise, if we do

not see reforms, it will be clear we need to knock on

Kayani's door. End comment.



FEIERSTEIN