This undated handout photograph shows a portrait of newly-appointed Pakistani army chief General Raheel Sharif
Islamabad:
In the most crucial appointment of his new term, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Wednesday chose a relative outsider, Lt. Gen. Raheel Sharif, to lead Pakistan's powerful army.
With the choice, the prime minister seemed to be skirting the line of confrontation with a military establishment that ousted him in 1999 but did not overtly cross it.
Raheel Sharif, who is not related to the prime minister, was the third in line for the post by seniority and comes from a noted military family, keeping with Nawaz Sharif's promise to take experience and tradition into account for the appointment. But in other ways the prime minister seemed to be flexing his independence from a military command that until recent years had run roughshod over civilian governments.
Notably, Raheel Sharif was not the favored candidate of his predecessor, Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, a power player who is resigning this week after a tumultuous six-year stint at the top of the military. Raheel Sharif had not held any clear first-tier commands, nor had he served in the influential Military Operations Directorate or come up through an intelligence background - all points on Kayani's resume.
Instead, Nawaz Sharif shunted Kayani's favorite, Lt. Gen. Rashad Mahmood, into the position of Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff - a nominally more powerful job that in reality is subordinate to the army chief.
"No doubt the Sharifs think he is more pliable than Rashad and not as close to Kayani," said a senior U.S. defense official, referring to Rashad Sharif, and speaking on the condition of anonymity.
Like the prime minister, Raheel Sharif comes from the eastern city of Lahore, the heartland of military influence in Pakistan. He comes from a family that is "more interested in the profession and less in politics," said Talat Masood, a retired lieutenant general and a respected defense analyst. "Sharif is soldierly and professionally very sound. And, because of his background, the prime minister seemed to have greater confidence in him."
Accordingly, some Pakistani analysts saw the choice as evidence that Nawaz Sharif was looking for someone slightly more biddable. But that kind of gamesmanship has come back to bite him before. During Nawaz Sharif's previous stint in power in the late 1990s, he passed over more senior generals to choose Gen. Pervez Musharraf as army chief - the man who would later depose and replace him in the 1999 coup.
In an institution where legacy and heritage are prized, Raheel Sharif, a 57-year-old infantry officer, does hold many credentials looked for in the army commander post.
His brother, Shabbir Sharif, is a decorated war hero who died in Pakistan's 1971 war against India - a connection that many Pakistani news outlets prominently noted in their profiles of Raheel Sharif.
Until now, he was in charge of the army's training program, implementing changes ordered by Kayani to improve the army's counterinsurgency capabilities as it faces a growing threat from Islamist insurgents based in the tribal belt, particularly the Pakistani Taliban.
Raheel Sharif inherits an army that, though it is still Pakistan's most powerful institution, has seen its once-unassailable authority somewhat eroded in recent years.
The continuing onslaught of attacks from the Pakistani Taliban in recent years has become such a clear challenge that the country's leaders, including Kayani, have recently sought to open peace talks with the group rather than calling for a new military offensive. And a series of diplomatic and intelligence crises involving the United States, as well as changes in society like a more assertive media and judiciary, have brought questions about the military's role that would have been unthinkable a generation ago.
The army is still revered by most Pakistanis, however. And under Kayani, the military gained a new point of respect: Despite years of turmoil and conflict with the civilian government led by President Asif Ali Zardari, the generals chose to bide their time and allow a fully democratic transition rather than taking control themselves.
The question now is whether Kayani's changes to the military culture that have rendered the prospect of a military coup a secondary risk will continue under Raheel Sharif. Given the prime minister's seeming comfort with the choice, and the opinion of senior military analysts, most saw continued restraint to be the most likely result.
Other challenges remain.
The U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan next door, as well as the continued and deeply unpopular CIA drone strike campaign within Pakistani territory, have kept apprehensions high among Pakistani officials. Despite often-strained relations, the Obama administration has continued to seek Pakistani military and intelligence cooperation on those issues, presenting a difficult balancing act for the country's military leadership.
With the choice, the prime minister seemed to be skirting the line of confrontation with a military establishment that ousted him in 1999 but did not overtly cross it.
Raheel Sharif, who is not related to the prime minister, was the third in line for the post by seniority and comes from a noted military family, keeping with Nawaz Sharif's promise to take experience and tradition into account for the appointment. But in other ways the prime minister seemed to be flexing his independence from a military command that until recent years had run roughshod over civilian governments.
Notably, Raheel Sharif was not the favored candidate of his predecessor, Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, a power player who is resigning this week after a tumultuous six-year stint at the top of the military. Raheel Sharif had not held any clear first-tier commands, nor had he served in the influential Military Operations Directorate or come up through an intelligence background - all points on Kayani's resume.
Instead, Nawaz Sharif shunted Kayani's favorite, Lt. Gen. Rashad Mahmood, into the position of Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff - a nominally more powerful job that in reality is subordinate to the army chief.
"No doubt the Sharifs think he is more pliable than Rashad and not as close to Kayani," said a senior U.S. defense official, referring to Rashad Sharif, and speaking on the condition of anonymity.
Like the prime minister, Raheel Sharif comes from the eastern city of Lahore, the heartland of military influence in Pakistan. He comes from a family that is "more interested in the profession and less in politics," said Talat Masood, a retired lieutenant general and a respected defense analyst. "Sharif is soldierly and professionally very sound. And, because of his background, the prime minister seemed to have greater confidence in him."
Accordingly, some Pakistani analysts saw the choice as evidence that Nawaz Sharif was looking for someone slightly more biddable. But that kind of gamesmanship has come back to bite him before. During Nawaz Sharif's previous stint in power in the late 1990s, he passed over more senior generals to choose Gen. Pervez Musharraf as army chief - the man who would later depose and replace him in the 1999 coup.
In an institution where legacy and heritage are prized, Raheel Sharif, a 57-year-old infantry officer, does hold many credentials looked for in the army commander post.
His brother, Shabbir Sharif, is a decorated war hero who died in Pakistan's 1971 war against India - a connection that many Pakistani news outlets prominently noted in their profiles of Raheel Sharif.
Until now, he was in charge of the army's training program, implementing changes ordered by Kayani to improve the army's counterinsurgency capabilities as it faces a growing threat from Islamist insurgents based in the tribal belt, particularly the Pakistani Taliban.
Raheel Sharif inherits an army that, though it is still Pakistan's most powerful institution, has seen its once-unassailable authority somewhat eroded in recent years.
The continuing onslaught of attacks from the Pakistani Taliban in recent years has become such a clear challenge that the country's leaders, including Kayani, have recently sought to open peace talks with the group rather than calling for a new military offensive. And a series of diplomatic and intelligence crises involving the United States, as well as changes in society like a more assertive media and judiciary, have brought questions about the military's role that would have been unthinkable a generation ago.
The army is still revered by most Pakistanis, however. And under Kayani, the military gained a new point of respect: Despite years of turmoil and conflict with the civilian government led by President Asif Ali Zardari, the generals chose to bide their time and allow a fully democratic transition rather than taking control themselves.
The question now is whether Kayani's changes to the military culture that have rendered the prospect of a military coup a secondary risk will continue under Raheel Sharif. Given the prime minister's seeming comfort with the choice, and the opinion of senior military analysts, most saw continued restraint to be the most likely result.
Other challenges remain.
The U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan next door, as well as the continued and deeply unpopular CIA drone strike campaign within Pakistani territory, have kept apprehensions high among Pakistani officials. Despite often-strained relations, the Obama administration has continued to seek Pakistani military and intelligence cooperation on those issues, presenting a difficult balancing act for the country's military leadership.
© 2013, The New York Times News Service
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