Gen. Raheel Sharif - New Army Chief for Pakistan

-DR. ABDUL RUFF COLACHAL 

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Upon retirement of Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani as military chief, Pakistan's prime minister has promoted an experienced general Raheel Sharif to be the next army chief - arguably the most powerful position in the country. Raheel Sharif is the brother of a dead war hero.

Many retired army officers said the new chief, who is not related to the prime minister, largely will continue the policies of his predecessor, Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani — including avoiding overt interference in politics.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's decision to appoint Gen. Raheel Sharif, which was announced in a statement, was a sensitive one since the premier was toppled in a military coup in 1999 by the last army chief he selected, Gen. Pervez Musharraf who is now undergoing  trial processes  for his alleged crimes as president of Pakistan. .

Pakistan has experienced three military coups and has been run by the army for half of its 66-year history. Kayani's stance allowed the country to experience its first successful transition between democratically elected governments earlier this year — although the army has continued to play a powerful role in politics in the background, especially with regard to policy toward the Afghan war and Pakistan's archenemy India.

Gen. Raheel Sharif most recently served as the head of the army's training and evaluation wing, an important position in a country where the force has attempted to retool its skills toward counterinsurgency. His brother was one of the army's most decorated soldiers and was killed in the 1971 war with India.

Talat Masood, a retired army general and defense analyst said the army will continue to stay out of politics, and the power of the army will continue to get diluted over time.

During the era of Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, military kept itself away from politics and refused to decide the regime matters- except helping the  government with necessary counsels.

The new army chief certainly will be faced with those policy challenges, as well as the country's war with its own domestic Taliban insurgency. The US-Pakistani relations have suffered very badly in recent times with US forces killing Pakistanis and attacking Pakistani military posts.

Americans refuse to end drone terror operations inside Pakistan and that continues to fuel the crisis in the ties.