Pak army chief briefs PM on militancy

Pakistani premier Yousaf Raza Gilani was briefed by the country's army chief Wednesday as part of his new government's efforts to find political solutions to Islamic militancy, a statement said.
Army chief General Ashfaq Kayani met Gilani along with key coalition partners and ministers in Islamabad, two days after the ministers were sworn in and just over a week after the premier was elected by parliament.
The new government is led by opponents of the embattled US ally President Pervez Musharraf, including the party of slain opposition leader Benazir Bhutto, which trounced Musharraf's allies in elections in February.
An official statement said Kayani "presented all the efforts it (the army) had undertaken to stabilise the situation" in Pakistan's troubled tribal areas bordering Afghanistan and in the restive northwestern Swat Valley.
Gilani and his coalition partners ordered the briefing "in order to come up with political policy guidelines to address the menace of terrorism and extremism, through a comprehensive strategy based on political engagement, economic development and backed by a creditable military element," it added.
Those present at the meeting included Bhutto's widower Asif Ali Zardari, the de facto head of her Pakistan People's Party, and former premier Nawaz Sharif, whose party is the second biggest in the coalition.
Gilani is a leading member of Bhutto's party.
Pakistan has been a bulwark in US-led efforts to tackle al-Qaeda and Taliban militants since Musharraf joined the so-called "war on terror" after the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States.
Gilani said on Saturday that militancy was the new government's biggest priority, but stressed the need for political as well as military solutions amid a wave of suicide bombings in Pakistan.
These include reforming the British colonial-era laws that govern the tribal areas, an ethnic Pashtun-dominated region that US officials have branded a safe haven for Osama bin Laden's terror network.
Meanwhile 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.