Oct 2, 2007, 11:22 GMT
Islamabad - Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf on Tuesday named the outgoing director of the country's top spy agency to replace him as army chief.
General Ashfaq Pervez Kiani, who heads the powerful military Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), will take up the post of deputy chief of staff on Monday and move into the top post 'on vacation of that office,' the military said in a statement issued four days before the president will seek re-election.
Musharraf, a key US counter-terrorism ally who came to power in a 1999 coup, says he will step down as army chief if he receives another mandate in a parliamentary vote due October 6. He has pledged to relinquish his military status before his current term ends on November 15.
With loyal forces in the legislature expected to ensure he is re-elected, the general is seen as positioning allies in key positions to ward against any threat from within the army after he becomes a civilian leader.
Kiani's nomination comes days after Musharraf promoted him and a number of other senior officers in the military and security apparatus and announced several senior appointments.
The officer is expected to continue Islamabad's campaign against Islamic militants and al-Qaeda elements in the country's tribal areas, according to analysts.
Kiani, who was commissioned in 1971, enjoys a high degree of trust from Musharraf and was tasked with investigating two assassination attempts against the president in 2003.
He also led the recent inconclusive negotiations on a power-sharing deal between Musharraf and ex-premier and opposition leader Benazir Bhutto.
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