Ahassan
FULL MEMBER
- Joined
- Jun 3, 2006
- Messages
- 564
- Reaction score
- 0
THE GLOBAL ELITE
20: Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani
Chief of Army Staff, Pakistan
In theory this mumbling, chain-smoking general answers to President Asif Ali Zardari. But Kayani and his troops remain the dominant power in what could be the most dangerous country in the world. He's responsible for Pakistan's nukes; for the battle against Al Qaeda and its tribal allies along the Afghan border; and for managing tensions with neighbor India. So far, his army has kept itself out of politics and seems focused on the battle against jihadists. In the wake of the November terrorist attacks in Mumbai, Kayani stood firm on Pakistan's sovereignty while also taking measures against the alleged sponsors of the outrage.
Kayani insists he's a committed democrat, but he nevertheless argues that military interventions (there have been four since independence 61 years ago) are sometimes necessary to maintain Pakistan's stability. He likens coups to temporary bypasses that are created when a bridge collapses on democracy's highway. After the bridge is repaired, he says, then there's no longer any need for the detour.
The Newsweek 50: Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani | Newsweek The Global Elite | Newsweek.com
Leaders & Revolutionaries
Until his promotion to army chief last fall, Ashfaq Kayani was the ultimate gray man, chosen, it seemed, for his lack of political ambition and his unwavering loyalty to his boss, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf. But Kayani, 56, quickly showed that his loyalty lay with the nation he had served for nearly four decades, not with the man who had elevated him to the most powerful position in the country. On taking office, Kayani ordered the withdrawal of all military officers from lucrative posts in the civilian bureaucracy. As Pakistan went to the polls in February, Kayani kept the army out of sight, a first in a nation long accustomed to election results tinged by a khaki shadow. The message was clear: his army would stick to the barracks and the battlefields, not the ballot boxes.
Soldiers, friends, diplomats and politicians all extol his reasoned thinking and tempered judgment. "Kayani understands that he will have to restructure the military to go after extremists," says a Western observer in Islamabad. "The fight against extremism got a breath of fresh air when he came in." Fresh air is not usually the first thing that comes to mind when one describes Kayani his voice has the deep crackle of a chain smoker, and he is rarely without his ivory-handled cigarette holder. But it looks as if he's planning to be seen and heard as little as possible.
Ashfaq Kayani - The 2008 TIME 100 - TIME
20: Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani
Chief of Army Staff, Pakistan
In theory this mumbling, chain-smoking general answers to President Asif Ali Zardari. But Kayani and his troops remain the dominant power in what could be the most dangerous country in the world. He's responsible for Pakistan's nukes; for the battle against Al Qaeda and its tribal allies along the Afghan border; and for managing tensions with neighbor India. So far, his army has kept itself out of politics and seems focused on the battle against jihadists. In the wake of the November terrorist attacks in Mumbai, Kayani stood firm on Pakistan's sovereignty while also taking measures against the alleged sponsors of the outrage.
Kayani insists he's a committed democrat, but he nevertheless argues that military interventions (there have been four since independence 61 years ago) are sometimes necessary to maintain Pakistan's stability. He likens coups to temporary bypasses that are created when a bridge collapses on democracy's highway. After the bridge is repaired, he says, then there's no longer any need for the detour.
The Newsweek 50: Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani | Newsweek The Global Elite | Newsweek.com
Leaders & Revolutionaries
Until his promotion to army chief last fall, Ashfaq Kayani was the ultimate gray man, chosen, it seemed, for his lack of political ambition and his unwavering loyalty to his boss, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf. But Kayani, 56, quickly showed that his loyalty lay with the nation he had served for nearly four decades, not with the man who had elevated him to the most powerful position in the country. On taking office, Kayani ordered the withdrawal of all military officers from lucrative posts in the civilian bureaucracy. As Pakistan went to the polls in February, Kayani kept the army out of sight, a first in a nation long accustomed to election results tinged by a khaki shadow. The message was clear: his army would stick to the barracks and the battlefields, not the ballot boxes.
Soldiers, friends, diplomats and politicians all extol his reasoned thinking and tempered judgment. "Kayani understands that he will have to restructure the military to go after extremists," says a Western observer in Islamabad. "The fight against extremism got a breath of fresh air when he came in." Fresh air is not usually the first thing that comes to mind when one describes Kayani his voice has the deep crackle of a chain smoker, and he is rarely without his ivory-handled cigarette holder. But it looks as if he's planning to be seen and heard as little as possible.
Ashfaq Kayani - The 2008 TIME 100 - TIME
