A Pakistani court on Monday dismissed a petition challenging the government's decision to give a three-year extension to army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, saying it was non-maintainable.
Pakistan and the United States are set to hold their first strategic dialogue on Wednesday, but the focus will squarely be on powerful army chief Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, who has played a key role in shaping the government's approach to the parleys, which are expected to cover Indo-Pak ties and Afghanistan. General Kayani, who is currently visiting the US at the invitation of Central Command chief General David Petraeus, will participate in the ministerial-level strategic talks.
While Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi is leading the Pakistani delegation for the Pak-US strategic talks beginning on Wednesday, it is Pak Army Chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani who is actually in charge of running the show.
The report regarding Pakistan Army Chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani extending the tenure of Inter-Services Intelligence Director General Lieutenant General Ahmed Shuja Pasha by a year clearly suggests that nothing much has changed in the country and the two still rule the roost, says an article in the New York Times.While experts believe that Kayani's move may also pave the way for his own extension in service, the 'weak' civilian set-up in Pakistan has no other choice.
Against the backdrop of reports about Hindus migrating to India due to forced conversions and kidnapping for ransom by criminal gangs, army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani on Tuesday said Pakistan was envisioned as a country where the life and property of all minorities would be safe.
Pakistan Army Chief General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani refused an American request to confiscate the cell phone of jailed Lashkae-e-Tayiba commander Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi being used to direct group's operation from the Rawalpindi jail, reflecting connection between the country's military and the terrorist outfit.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif plans to name Pakistan's new army chief weeks before Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani's term ends in November to quell speculation about the issue, according to a media report on Monday.
Pakistan Army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani held a key meeting with top commanders on Thursday against the backdrop of an escalating row with the civilian government over the memo scandal.
We need to take the bull by its horns and confront the Pakistan Army directly. However blasphemous and anti-protocol it may seem we must insist that General Ashfaq Kayani be a part of the dialogue process, says Vivek Gumaste.
Pakistan government is seriously contemplating the removal of powerful army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and ISI head Lt Gen Ahmed Shuja Pasha against the backdrop of a standoff on a memo alleging an army plot to seize power, a media report said on Monday.
In the backdrop of Nawaz Sharif's positive remarks on ties with India, powerful Army Chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani has suggested Pakistan's Prime Minister-designate to take gradual initiatives with utmost caution for improving relations with New Delhi, a media report said Sunday.
Ending weeks of speculation, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Wednesday appointed Lt Gen Raheel Sharif as Pakistan's new army chief and Lt Gen Rashid Mehmood as the chairman joint chiefs of staff committee.
United States Senator John Kerry, on a mission to Pakistan to ease tensions in the wake of the American raid that killed Osama bin Laden, has been told by Pakistan Army Chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani that the unilateral action had generated 'intense feelings' among his soldiers.
Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani has dispelled reports of joint operations with the US against militants in North Waziristan, saying Pakistan alone would decide the timing of any offensive in the tribal region according to its military requirements.
Amid growing speculation about a fresh anti-militancy campaign in the country's lawless tribal belt, Pakistan's powerful army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani on Tuesday warned of a civil war if the war on terrorism is not fought.
Pakistan's powerful army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani has contended that India had hardened its position on the Siachen issue, especially compared to the situation in 1989, when the two sides were "close to a resolution".
Pakistan's army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani on Wednesday visited a teenage rights activist grievously injured by Taliban militants as he warned that the "heinous" attack on the girl had clearly exposed the "extremist mindset" confronting the nation.
Warning that Pakistan, a nuclear power, was not like Afghanistan or Iraq, the country's powerful army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani said United States would have to think "10 times" before launching an unilateral action in the restive North Waziristan.
Intelligence operatives raided a house in C-Block of the posh Model Town area and detained the Hizb-ut-Tahrir activists, official sources told PTI.
General Raheel Sharif on Friday assumed charge as Pakistan's new army chief at a ceremony in Rawalpindi, where outgoing army chief general Ashfaq Parvez Kayani passed on the command stick to him.
The United States has ruled out a military coup in Pakistan in the wake of the political chaos saying Army Chief General Ashfaq Kayani is a staunch supporter of democracy and doesn't want to take over like his predecessor Pervez Musharraf did in 1999.
Pakistan Army Chief General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani has received an unusual support from leading Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain, who described him as 'a man of principle'.
General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, who has acknowledged his force is "India-centric" due to unresolved issues between the two countries, will continue playing a key role in shaping foreign policy after the three-year extension granted to him as Pakistan's Army chief. Announcing the government's decision to extend Kayani's tenure late Thursday night, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said the move was necessary to ensure continuity of military leadership for ongoing operations agai
United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has taken up the issue of the American 'diplomat' who has been in police custody for killing two people in Lahore, with Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari and army chief Ashfaq Pervez Kayani. Clinton raised the matter during her telephonic conversation with Zardari last week and also when she met Kayani on the sidelines of the Munich conference over the weekend.
India's Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh opened secret talks with Pakistan Army chief 10 months ago to build on the cricket-inspired diplomatic thaw between the two countries, a media report said on Saturday.
The latest tranche of WikiLeaks published in the media has revealed that Zardari had made extensive preparations in case of his own assassination and instructed his son Bilawal to name his sister, Faryal Talpur, as president.
The name of Pakistan Army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani's successor will be announced a day before he retires on November 29, Information Minister Pervaiz Rashid said on Friday.
Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Tuesday held a meeting with the country's army and intelligence chiefs to discuss the regional security situation and the reconciliation process in Afghanistan, reflecting the easing of tensions between the civilian and the military leadership.
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Monday dismissed reports that his government was planning to remove the chiefs of the Pakistan Army and Inter-Services Intelligence agency, saying he had personally ensured that both generals were given an extension in service.
Nine rockets were fired in Abbottabad, with two of the projectiles hitting the outer wall of the academy, but there were no reports of causalities or damage in the strike that was carried out at 3.30 am, officials said.
'There are a few things you never forget about people, especially when you make them happy with the smallest of gestures, and for Shashi ji, it was a packet of Shrewsbury Biscuit.'
Pakistan's powerful army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani has waded into a stand-off between the government and judiciary, saying the country's development and welfare depend on state institutions functioning within their constitutional limits.
Responding to Indian Army Chief General Deepak Kapoor's statement that the Indian Armed forces were ready to fight Pakistan and China simultaneously, Pakistan Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Pervz Kayani said the situation in the region could get out of control due to such "dangerous adventurism".
Pakistan army general Ashfaq Parvez Kayani on Friday said the Pakistan is capable of defeating any aggressive design or 'cold start doctrine,' in an apparent reference to Indian army's new military doctrine including scenarios such as a two-front war with China and Pakistan.
With Pakistan's powerful army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani's term coming to an end in November, names of top generals who are likely to succeed him are being discussed in the political circles and in the corridors of power.
The Pakistan government has no intention of taking any action against Army Chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, the country's top law officer informed the Supreme Court on Friday against the backdrop of a standoff between the civil administration and the military.
The Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), which trained a batch of Assam's United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) militants in 1991-92, considered the rebel group's chief Paresh Baruah a prize catch and did not want to offend him even after he was unwilling to take the agency's commands on conducting operations in the northeastern state, claims a new book.
A Pakistani court has admitted a petition seeking to block any attempt by the government to sack army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and Inter Services Intelligence chief Lieutenant General Ahmed Shuja Pasha over the memo scandal. The petition filed by lawyer Maulvi Iqbal Haider was accepted by the Islamabad high court on Wednesday. Haider asked the court to restrain the president and prime minister from taking any action against the army and ISI chiefs.
General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, called Pakistani Army Chief General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani to discuss with him military-to-military ties between the two countries. "The call was cordial and professional. It is a routine part of the relationship and another opportunity to understand what is most important to each military as we confront common threats," said Colonel Dave Lapan, spokesman of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
The war of words between Pakistan and the United States on the Inter-Services Intelligence's alleged links with the Haqqani terror network escalated on Friday with Pakistan Army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani describing US military chief Admiral Mike Mullen's accusations as "not based on facts".
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