ISLAMABAD - In a major reshuffle, six major generals of Pakistan Army were promoted as lieutenant generals on Monday, while one of them was nominated as ISI director general.
All the elevated lieutenant generals were also assigned important positions; four of them stepping into the shoes of the incumbent corps commanders of Mangla, Peshawar, Gujranwala and Karachi on their retirement at the start of next month.
According to the ISPR, new Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) director general Lt-Gen Rizwan Akhtar will assume charge on November 8, when incumbent DG Lt-Gen DG Zaheerul Islam retires. One of the promoted officers, Lt-Gen Nazir Ahmad Butt will assume the charge of IG Communication and Information Technology.
Lt-Gen Hidayatur Rehman will replace Peshawar Corps Commander Lt-Gen Khalid Rabbani, who is directly handling the ongoing military operation Zerb-i-Azb against militants in North Waziristan. Lt-Gen Mian Muhammad Hilal Hussain will replace Mangla Corps Commander Lt-Gen Tariq, Lt-Gen Ghayur Mahmood will replace Gujranwala Corps Commander Lt-Gen Saleem Nawaz and Lt-Gen Naveed Mukhtar will replace Karachi Corps Commander Lt-Gen Sajjad Ghani, according to the ISPR press release.
The appointment to the prized slot of ISI DG, practically considered the most powerful post next to the army chief, has been made almost a month and a half before the retirement of the incumbent DG Zaheerul Islam.
The changes at the top level of powerful army have been announced amid reports that ISI DG Lt-Gen Zaheer and the retiring corps commanders were providing covert support to the forces trying to dethrone Nawaz Sharif for his efforts to assert civilian control over army, seeking vengeance over former General Musharraf’s issue and some other important matter. However, the army has been strongly rejecting this impression.
It is the first major reshuffle in the top tier of armed forces after the appointment of General Sharif as Chief of Army Staff, who himself was picked by PM Sharif ignoring two of his seniors and is considered as the most powerful support to the fledgling PML-N regime that has been under intense pressure for months due to the anti-government campaign led by PTI chairman Imran Khan and PAT chief Dr Tahirul Qadri.
The incoming ISI DG Rizwan Akhtar was at number 63 with regards to the overall seniority and at number 34 among the major generals of the Pakistan Army as on Monday morning.
The appointment of ISI DG falls in the domain of prime minister who normally makes it in consultation with the army chief. Major General Rizwan Akhtar is said to be primarily the choice of Gen Raheel Sharif but PM Nawaz Sharif was also in complete harmony on it. Instead of sending a list of three candidates for the slot, as is the normal procedure, only Rizwan’s name was forwarded to the PM who duly approved it, sources said.
The newly appointed ISI DG is said to have a brilliant military career and he has a media and public friendly image which he had carved out during his assignment as Sindh Rangers DG, a position he was holding up till recently. The soft spoken Lt-Gen Rizwan is also known as an expert in working with the civil administration.
Lt-Gen Rizwan Akhtar was commissioned in Frontier Force Regiment in September 1982. He is a graduate of Command and Staff College Quetta and also studied at NDU Islamabad and War Course USA. He has commanded an infantry brigade and a division in Fata and recently was serving as Sindh Rangers DG.
Lt-Gen Mian Muhammad Hilal Hussain is presently DG Military Training at GHQ. He was commissioned in Artillery in Sep 1982. He is also a graduate of Command and Staff College Quetta, and been studying at NDU Islamabad and in Australia. He has been Military Adviser to Pakistan Permanent representative in UN and Military Secretary to President of Pakistan. He commanded an infantry brigade in Fata and also served as Punjab Rangers DG.
Lt- Gen Ghayur Mahmood was commissioned in Frontier Force regiment in 1982. He graduated from Command and Staff Collage Quetta, and also studied at NDU Islamabad and in Kulalampur. He has commanded an infantry division in Fata. The general officer has also served as inspector general of Frontier Corps in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He is presently serving as Vice Chief of the General Staff at General Headquarters.
Lt-Gen Nazir Ahmed Butt is presently Commandant Pakistan Military Academy Kakul. He was commissioned in Frontier Force regiment in March 1983 and is a graduate of Command and Staff Collage Quetta and NDU Islamabad. He has been Military Secretary to the Prime Minister and Defence attaché in USA. He has commanded an infantry division in Fata.
Lt-Gen Naveed Mukhtar was commissioned in Armoured Corps regiment in 1983. He studied at Command and Staff Collage Quetta, NDU Islamabad and War Course USA. He has commanded a mechanised division and presently he is serving as DG ISI.
Lt-Gen Hidayatur Rehman is presently chief instructor at NDU Islamabad. He was commissioned in 1983. He is a graduate of Command and Staff Collage Quetta and NDU Islamabad. He has commanded an infantry division. Hidayatur Rehman is the first Lt-Gen from Gilgit Balitistan, and he was also the first person who had reached the position of Maj Gen from that area. Presently he is serving as Peshawar corps commander.
The retirement of four corps commanders has provided General Raheel with an opportunity to have officers of his choice on these key positions. All the four corps commanders who are going to retire in the beginning of next month were promoted and appointed by the former Army Chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani.