Surgical Strike Aftershock: Pakistan Spy Chief on his Way Out?

Pakistan’s spy chief faces an early exit from his job, a newspaper report said on Saturday, days after the Indian Army carried out surgical strikes to dismantle the terror infrastructure in Pakistan-held territory.Lt Gen Rizwan Akhtar, director general of the power Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), is likely to be replaced within the next few weeks, Pakistan’s The Nation newspaper said citing official sources. The report quoted an unnamed official who said Akhtar will likely switch places with Karachi commander Lt Gen Naveed Mukhtar. The swapping makes sense as Akhtar has already served in Karachi as Director General of the Sindh Rangers, The Nation quoted the official as saying.The change of guard, however, depends on when Pakistan Army chief General Raheel Sharif retires, the official said. “It depends on whether the army chief gets an extension or retires as announced. I don’t think the notification of other changes in military command will come before that. There are a lot of variables involved,” the official told The Nation.General Sharif, whose political ambitions, have kept Pakistan’s political fraternity, particularly Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, on tenterhooks, had announced earlier this year that he would not seek an extension and retire as planned in November.The Nation said a spokesman for the country’s military denied the report, saying Akhtar will serve until his three-year term ends November next year. The development comes amid increasing friction between the government and army in Pakistan over the Uri attack, its diplomatic fallout and the Indian Army’s retaliatory surgical strikes.Highly-placed sources in the Pakistani government told CNN-News18 that an increasingly assertive Sharif is of the view that the Army and its support to non-state actors like Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Taiba is spoiling the image of the country and his government abroad. Sharif has also taken it up with the Army the Pakistan Foreign Office’s concerns on four neighbouring nations siding with India in boycotting the SAARC summit following the Uri attacks. On the other hand, the Pakistani Army establishment is livid over the CNN-News18 expose where a senior intelligence officer in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir confirmed the surgical strikes by Indian Special Forces that took place on September 30. The Army is furious that a civilian officer gave away details that Army had been steadfastly denying, including its hand in terror movement across the Line of Control (LoC).Meanwhile, the civilian administration has told the Pakistani Army that it is difficult to keep a permanent lid on such information.