Introduction: General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani was born in April 1952. He is a four-star general who currently holds the position of Chief of Army Staff in Pakistan. General Kayani also served as Director General Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).

Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani extended his term in 2010 and he remains the only Chief of Army Staff whose term was extended by any democratic government in the history of Pakistan.

Career History: Kayani was promoted to the position of Lieutenant General in 2003 which signified General Musharraf’s trust in him. Kayani was given the command of X Corps in Rawalpindi and responsibly followed out his responsibilities until October 2004.

In late 2004 he was appointed as the chief of ISI and he led the agency during one of its bleakest period. Wave of extremism, insurgency in Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa and Balochostan and suicide bombings across the country were a few issues that he had to tackle during his reign at ISI.

In the October of 2007, Kayani was promoted and appointed to the position of Vice Chief of Army Staff. He took over as the Chief of Army Staff soon after Musharraf resigned as the president in November 2007. Kayani has the honour of being the only Director General of ISI who got promoted as the Chief of Army Staff.

Election of 2008: During the year of election, Kayani vouched and announced that the army will responsibly play its constitutional role and will stay out of politics. He said that the army will fully support the democratic government and its strategic alliances.

Memo Scandal: In the backdrop of infamous and controversial memo scandal, General Kayani and his comrades did not agree to accept the government’s stance on the issue which instigated a series of disagreements on both sides. Kayani accused the political leadership of diverting the attention from memo scandal by spreading rumours about a possible coup and showed resilience to solve the memo mystery.