ISLAMABAD: The government appointed on Monday Lt Gen Rizwan Akhtar as next chief of the powerful Inter-Services Intelli­gence (ISI). He will take charge when his predecessor Lt Gen Zaheerul Islam retires on Nov 7.

“Lt Gen Rizwan will move to directorate general of ISI,” said a brief ISPR statement on the appointment of the new spy chief.

The new ISI director general was named by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on the recommendation of Chief of the Army Staff Gen Raheel Sharif in accordance with a set procedure for appointment to this position.

The prime minister and the army chief met following the announcement of the new ISI chief.

Four corps commanders also named

Lt Gen Rizwan’s posting didn’t come as a surprise because he was long tipped for this position. Prior to the appointment, he was promoted as a three-star general. Lt Gen Rizwan was previously heading Sindh Rangers as a two-star general.

Lt Gen Zaheerul Islam

He was posted as director general of Sindh Rangers in March 2012 and during his tenure he oversaw the Karachi operation that met with mixed results.

Maj Gen Bilal Akbar will replace him as DG Rangers.

Gen Rizwan’s parent regiment is Frontier Force. He remained General Officer Commanding in South Waziristan from 2010 to 2012. His postings in Karachi and South Waziristan provide him a good background in counter-terrorism which is currently the focus of the agency.

Although Gen Sharif picked a relatively younger general to head the premier intelligence agency, he was the most senior among the batch of six two-star generals promoted on Monday.

With Gen Rizwan’s appointment as the next ISI chief and other promotions/postings — most of which were crucial — Gen Sharif is said to be consolidating his position.

But former military spokesman retired Maj Gen Ather Abbas believes otherwise. “It will be wrong to assume that all of the promoted generals were chief’s men, it’s rather an indication of a functioning system. The promotions show that they were made on the basis of merit and performance,” he said.

Other major generals who have been promoted to the next rank are: Maj Gen Mian Muhammad Hilal Hussain, Maj Gen Ghayur Mahmood, Maj Gen Nazir Ahmed Butt, Maj Gen Naveed Mukhtar and Maj Gen Hidayatur Rehman.

Importantly, new postings of the promoted officers were announced the same day to avoid speculations.

Gen Hidayat, the first general officer from Northern Areas, was posted as Corps Commander Peshawar, Gen Naveed Mukhtar as Corps Commander Karachi, Gen Hilal Hussain as Corps Commander Mangla, Gen Ghayur as Corps Commander Gujranwala and Gen Nazir Butt as Inspector General of C&IT Branch at the GHQ.

Most of the newly posted generals will assume their positions upon retirement of their predecessors in October.

This was the second but most significant reshuffle by Gen Sharif after he became the army chief late last year. He looked to be making a fresh start by posting the newly promoted generals to all positions falling vacant in October/November instead of moving some of the senior lieutenant generals in the ranks.

The second aspect of the promotions is that most of the generals bring with them fresh experience of fighting terrorism.

Gen Hidayat has previously commanded brigades in Khyber Agency and North Waziristan. He will take over from Lt Gen Khalid Rabbani who retires on Oct 2.

Gen Naveed Mukhtar was heading the ISI’s counter-terrorism wing. His appointment reflects the army’s desire to concentrate on fighting terrorism in Karachi which is rapidly getting entangled in Taliban and Al Qaeda tentacles.

Gen Mukhtar, before his ISI posting, commanded brigade in South Waziristan and remained posted in operations directorate. He will take over from Lt Gen Sajjad Ghani who retires on Oct 25.

Gen Hilal Hussain will succeed Lt Gen Tariq Khan at Mangla Corps, which is the strike corps. Gen Khan, well known for his contributions in the war on terror, retires on Oct 2.

Gen Ghayur, who as General Officer Commanding in North Waziristan stirred a controversy in 2011 for publicly acknowledging effectiveness of US drones in the fight against militants when the official policy was to condemn the drone strikes, will replace Lt Gen Saleem Nawaz upon his retirement on Nov 20. Gen Ghayur was currently posted as vice chief of general staff.

Gen Nazir Butt has earlier served as commandant Pakistan Military Academy.

Published in Dawn, September 23rd, 2014