US wants Pak Army Chief Kayani to stay for another year

WASHINGTON - Even though the Pakistan government has clarified its stand on the tenure of Army Chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, sources in the US Central Command (CENTCOM) have revealed that he is likely to get an extension.

Insiders in the CENTCOM said that General Kayani has developed strong working relations with his American counterparts and it will be in the ‘best interest of the operation (war on terror) not to change leadership mid-stream.’

Sources also said that General Kayani has assured the Obama administration that the Pakistani armed forces would not disrupt the country’s civilian set-up, and would play in their “own sandbox”, The Examiner reports.

Earlier, ruling out the chances of giving Kayani an extension in service, Defence Minister Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar said that the PPP-led Government would not extend his tenure, and neither had he asked for it.

General Kayani (55) is the 14th chief of the Pakistan Army. He was promoted as a full General in October 2007, and made the Vice Chief of Army Staff.

He took over as the new Army Chief after Pervez Musharraf’s retirement on November 28,2007. (ANI)