Musharraf ally dropped as intelligence chief

ISLAMABAD - A key ally of President Pervez Musharraf has been dropped from his position as head of one of the country’s top intelligence services, the military said Wednesday.
Army chief General Ashfaq Kayani appointed Major General Mohammad Asif to take over as head of the powerful Military Intelligence (MI) outfit from the current holder of the post, Major General Nadeem Ejaz.
MI is one of Pakistan’s three main spy agencies. The others are Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), which is also run by the army, and the Intelligence Bureau, which is a civilian organisation.
“Major General Mohammad Asif has been appointed director general Military Intelligence today, replacing Major General Nadeem Ejaz,” chief military spokesman Major General Athar Abbas told AFP.
Asif previously served as Pakistan’s defence attache to Russia.
Analysts said Ejaz was a close confidante and a relative by marriage of key US ally President Musharraf, who seized power in a coup in 1999 and was army chief until November last year.
Musharraf appointed Ijaz in 2006. Under Ijaz, MI assumed a greater role in the country’s political affairs and Ijaz was one of the key witnesses when Musharraf controversially suspended the country’s chief justice in March 2007.
Asif, by contrast, is close to Kayani, who took over from Musharraf last year and has since set about reducing the army’s role in politics to focus on tackling Al-Qaeda and Taliban militants.
The MI chief is supposed to be the eyes and ears of the army chief, analysts said.