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Musharraf promotes army officers
superseding several others

In an apparent bid to cling on to power, Pakistan military ruler Gen Pervez Musharraf has for the third time superseded senior army officers by promoting six Major Generals to the rank of Lieutenant Generals, displacing at least 12 officers of the same rank.

The promoted Generals were, however, not given any new appointments, according to an official announcement in Islamabad.

A major reshuffle in the top military hierarchy is also in the offing to strengthen Musharraf's hands and facilitate major decisions in the near future, The Nation daily said.

The elevation of the Generals assumes significance in view of Musharraf's scheduled retirement as army chief in October this year. Six of the 12 Corps Commanders, who are part of the core group of the military regime, will retire during the course of the year.

This is the third time since Musharraf's take-over that such an action has been taken by the regime. The process started late last year when senior navy officials were superseded. This was followed by a similar reshuffle in the army in December.

Those promoted as Lt Generals were Maj Gen Muhammad Akram, Maj Gen Syed Pervaiz Shahid, Maj Gen Ehsanul Haq, Maj Gen Ghulam Mustafa, Maj Gen Khateer Hassan Khan and Maj Gen Masud Pervez.

The News daily said among the 12 Major Generals superseded were General Officer Commanding Maj Gen Rehmat Khan and Maj Gen Iqbal Khan, posted to the Infantry School, Quetta, who topped the list of seniors in their ranks.

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