Home

He's studied at some of the United States' most prestigious military training programs, including a stint at Fort Benning, Ga. and classes at the Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth in Kansas.

CIA officials have described him to the media as a "canny" operator and a "master" manipulator who rose through the rank-and-file lines of the military to earn the designation of general. They talk about him as a future leader with the potential to wield political clout with a fair hand and the respect of the populace.

And he's Pakistani.

Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani is the most important Pakistani leader that most Americans have never heard of. Kayani is the head of his country's military, a job he took over in late 2007 after the country's entrenched military head, Pervez Musharraf, resigned to become president, a role he continues to hold. A soldier's soldier who is said to rank the institution of the military above all else, Kayani is a recluse when it comes to the public eye, shunning interviews and distancing himself from politics as he battles civil strife and the Taliban in Pakistan.

Yet media reports, interviews with analysts, and Kayani's rarely-uttered public statements paint a clear picture of a military patriot with a clear vision for a peaceful Pakistan and a possible future as the politico who helps make that happen.

"Kayani seeks to build back the army 'brand,' and for now this means lying low in politics," Ahmed Humayun, a researcher at the Center for a New American Security, wrote in an email. "However, there is no doubt that the army -- and Kayani, as its head -- remain decisive actors in Pakistani politics."

Gen. Kayani set out on a military path early in life. He was born in 1952 in Pakistan's Punjab region, an area that is known as a conduit of recruits to the Pakistani Army. Flash forward four decades, to 1990, and Kayani, then a colonel, was appointed by the late Benazir Bhutto as a deputy military secretary during Bhutto's first stint as prime minister, according to the Christian Science Monitor. Bhutto endorsed his rise to the head of the army before her assassination last year.

The general rose to prominence on the world stage in the fall of 2007, when he was handpicked as the successor to Musharraf as the head of the military. For eight years, Musharraf had been both the military and civilian leader of Pakistan -- a scenario that bred contempt among many citizens displeased with what they felt was a heavy-handed government. When Musharraf stepped down to become a civilian president, Kayani set out to soothe what Humayun called "the public's disenchantment with military rule." He has worked to improve soldier morale and keep the military disassociated with political affairs, a difficult proposition given the historically interlaced relationship between Pakistan's military and civic machines.

Perhaps most importantly during Kayani's brief tenure as a world figure, he has also shown the global community no ambitions on holding a civilian leadership post. Skepticism remains, though, as Musharraf made similar representations when he took over as general in 1998. The next year, he staged a coup and assumed control of Pakistan's military and political arms. Policy analysts have noted that in recent history, three political leaders were ousted by their military counterparts.

"[Kayani] has seen how quickly a military strong man, such as Musharraf, can lose his national and international support," Harvey Sicherman, president and director of the Foreign Policy Research Institute in Philadelphia, told The Jewish State. "He will not make a coup but rather accept the government only if everyone -- including the United States -- begs him to take it."

The general's tests have come steadily since he took the reins of the military. Pakistan remains embroiled in militant battles with the Taliban. And while the answer to the question of "Who's winning?" depends on who's talking, Kayani has continued to steadfastly defend the military and keep it at an arm's length from the government. Kayani has also taken a slightly more public stance, issuing public statements on progress in the fight against Taliban insurgents and even talking with American media on at least one occasion.

Walter Andersen, acting director of the South Asia Studies program at Johns Hopkins University in Washington, D.C., said Kayani has been clear in keeping a divide between politics and military might. Andersen, however, quickly added that Kayani is a student of how an armed force is Pakistan's strongest defense, be it against the Taliban or its border skirmishes with Afghanistan and India.

"He would be very reluctant to get the military directly involved in politics and has so far managed to avoid that, while encouraging the major political actors to cooperate so that the political order does not have more crises that weaken the state," Andersen said via email. "By the same token, he is clearly willing to take steps to maintain the security of the country, and clearly believes, as did all his predecessors, that the military is the ultimate guardian of the country's well being."

Using those predecessors as a guide, Humayun noted that Kayani's future reputation would be rooted in how he helps Pakistan move forward. Judging by the few comments he has been quoted as saying since taking over the military, American government officials remain optimistic.

"It is the harmonization of sociopolitical, administrative, and military strategies that will usher in an environment of peace and stability in the long term," Kayani told a meeting of his corps commanders last year, according to a Pakistani media report quoted by the New York Times. "Ultimately, it is the will of the people and their support is decisive."