THE ARMY ADVANCES … Hot off its relative success in sweeping Swat of militants led by Maulana Fazlullah, sources report that the Pakistan Army has set its sights on Baitullah Mehsud, the purported mastermind behind the assassination of Benazir Bhutto. In addition to military action, sources also report that a major facet of the newfound [...]

[Read more →]

Sources report that Major General Athar Abbas has been appointed the new Director General of Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR). Abbas’ predecessor, Major General Waheed Arshad, is moving on to become the Director General of Planning in the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Secratariat, reporting directly to Gen. Ashfaq Kayani, Pakistan’s recently appointed army chief.

[Read more →]

Pakistan is in the throes of chaos following the assassination of Benazir Bhutto.  Scores of people have died and there has been a grave loss of property attributable to violence, fires and looting.  The situation, as it stands now, according to sources:  The government does not intend on imposing martial law at this point in [...]

[Read more →]

As Pakistani military operations in Swat wrap up and displaced residents begin to return home, we would like to proudly present our readers with another Insider Brief exclusive — video footage of army operations in Swat. (Also make sure to check out our newly updated Multimedia section for other audio/video clips.) Part I: AH1 Cobra [...]

[Read more →]

We’d like to thank all our readers for making this blog as successful as it is. Your readership and support has earned the Insider Brief exposure and recognition in multiple venues – The News: Reuters With Gen. Ashfaq Kayani’s ascendancy to the role of Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Reuters published an article on Nov. [...]

[Read more →]

One of the ceremonies held on November 28th, marking President Pervez Musharraf’s retirement from the Pakistan Army, was the retreat ceremony. Retreat ceremonies are typically held on military bases and involve either a bugle call or drumbeat to signal the lowering of the flag at sunset; in this case, it commemorated the sun setting on [...]

[Read more →]

Just as we revealed days ago, President Gen. Pervez Musharraf will be stepping down as Chief of Army Staff on Wednesday, in a change over ceremony in which Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani will ascend to the top slot. Only hours away, the ceremony is set to take place at 10:00am Pakistan Standard Time (PST). According [...]

[Read more →]

Casuistic Crisis The world is fixated on the “crisis” in Pakistan spawned by Pres. Gen. Pervez Musharraf’s imposition of emergency rule. The media is bombarding us with news that the regime is unstable, the nation is “plunging into chaos” and that the country’s nuclear weapons are at risk — frankly, nothing could be further from [...]

[Read more →]

We’ve learnt that President Gen. Pervez Musharraf will be stepping down as Chief of Army Staff (COAS) in a changeover ceremony on Wednesday in which Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani will ascend to the army’s top slot (see our profile of Kayani here). On Thursday, Musharraf will be sworn in for his second term as president. [...]

[Read more →]

Apologies to all IB readers for my undue absence this week. A host of commitments, primarily work, have kept me away. I’ve also found that much of what’s been creating a buzz in the media hasn’t been that signficant in terms of impact (e.g. Imran Khan’s arrest). Most events, though interesting, will not significantly alter [...]

[Read more →]

President Gen. Pervez Musharraf’s gamble appears to be paying off. Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry stands sidelined along with some of his recalcitrant colleagues, much of the fractured opposition is either detained or under arrest, and protests have been manageable. Though Benazir Bhutto appears to have entered the fray (now under house arrest), her actions may [...]

[Read more →]

High level sources report that a major decision regarding President Gen. Pervez Musharraf and his government will be made on November 1st. It’s up in the air as to who’s making the decision and about what exactly, however, we have reason to believe that Musharraf will be stepping down from his post as Army chief. [...]

[Read more →]

Knowledgable sources have indicated to us that tomorrow afternoon, October 2nd (Pakistan time), an announcement will be made revealing Lt. Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani’s (alt spelling: Ashfaq Kiyani) next role and potentially that of Lt. Gen. Tariq Majeed. This announcement is coming within days of the October 6th presidential elections, where Pres. Gen. Pervez Musharraf [...]

[Read more →]

In light of Newsweek’s recent profile of Lt. Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani (alt spelling: Ashfaq Kiyani) , I updated my profile of Gen. Kayani with exclusive photos of the elusive former spymaster and Pakistan’s next potential Chief of Army Staff (COAS).

[Read more →]

WHAT’S NEXT FOR KAYANI? As I reported would happen, Maj. Gen. Nadeem Taj was promoted to the rank of lieutenant general and named DG ISI, replacing Lt. Gen. Ashfaq Kayani (alt spelling: Ashfaq Kiyani) as the head of Pakistan’s premier intelligence service. Speculation in the media over Kayani’s future role is now hotter than ever, [...]

[Read more →]