Ashfaq Parvez Kayani

General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani NI(M) HI(C) HI(M) LoM LoH OMM (Urdu: ; born 20 April 1952), is a retired four-star general of the Pakistan Army who served as the eighth chief of army staff, being appointed on 29 November 2007 after his predecessor Pervez Musharraf retired from his military service and remained in the office until 29 November 2013.

Ashfaq Parvez Kayani was born at Manghot, a village located in the Punjab Province, on 20 April 1952, in a family belonging to the Kayani Ghakar tribe.

The town of Manghot is situated on the Pothohar Plateau bounded on the east by the Jhelum River, on the west by the Indus River.

Ashfaq's father was a Junior commissioned officer (JCO) in the Pakistan Army as Subedar major.

His humble background as the son of a JCO has endeared him to the junior ranks of the army.

After attending a local high school, Ashfaq successfully enrolled in the Military College Jhelum, Sarai Alamgir and made a transfer to Pakistan Military Academy in Kakul where he graduated with a bachelor's degree in 1971 in his class of 45th PMA Long Course.

Kayani was commissioned as 2nd Lieutenant in the 5th Battalion of the famed Baloch Regiment on 29 August 1971.

He actively participated and joined the military in the time of 1971 war with Bangladesh.

After the war, Ashfaq continued to resume his studies and became more involved with his studies after joining the Command and Staff College in Quetta.

After his graduation, Kayani departed to the United States on deputation and educated at the United States Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth and the United States Army Infantry School at Fort Benning.

After graduating from the military institutions in the United States, Ashfaq returned to Pakistan and attained his Master of Science in War studies from the National Defence University.

During his long military career, Ashfaq has been on the faculty of School of Infantry and Tactics, also in Quetta.

Ashfaq briefly taught war courses at the Command and Staff College in Quetta and later moved on to accepting the professorship of strategic studies and joined the teaching faculty at the National Defence University in Islamabad.

As a Lt Col, Gen Kayani commanded an Infantry Battalion.

As a Brigadier, he commanded an Infantry Brigade.

As a Brigadier, he also served as Benazir Bhutto's Military Secretary.

In 2000, Kayani was moved and appointed as the director of the Directorate–General of Military Operations (DGMO).

In 2001, it was during his tenure as DGMO that the intense military standoff between Pakistan and India took place.

Reportedly, Kayani only slept a few hours a night during that period as he diligently oversaw the unified armed forces mobilisation and preparedness on the border.

In September 2003, Kayani's promotion to three-star assignment was approved by the President Musharraf and subsequently elevating him to three-star rank, Lieutenant-General.

The same year, he was appointed as the field operational commander of the X Corps in Rawalpindi.

The promotion indicated Musharraf's significant trust in Kayani, since chief of army staff cannot build a military coup without the help of the X Corps commander.

During Kayani's tenure at the X Corps, he led the successful investigation of the two back-to-back suicide attacks against Musharraf in December 2003.

It is believed that Kayani won the trust of Musharraf after the investigation, and a prelude to Kayani's appointment as the sensitive position of ISI chief.

He was awarded Hilal-e-Imtiaz, the civilian medal, for his achievement.

Kayani led the X Corps until October 2004, when he was transferred to the ISI as its director-general.

In October 2004, Lieutenant-General Ashfaq Kayani was appointed as the director general of Directorate of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), in place of General Ehsan-ul-Haq, who was promoted as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee.

General Kayani directed the ISI operations and her operatives during a bleak period, with widely spread insurgencies in North-West Pakistan and Balochistan, disclosing of the nuclear proliferation case, and waves of suicide attacks throughout Pakistan emanating from the northwestern tribal belt.

In his final days at the ISI, he also led the talks with Benazir Bhutto for a possible power sharing deal with Musharraf.

Initially appointed as Vice Chief of Army Staff (VCOAS) under then-President Pervez Musharraf on 8 October 2007, he formally took over the command of the army when President Pervez Musharraf retired from his military service on 29 November 2007.

In addition, General Kayani served as the Director-General of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and as director of the Directorate-General of Military Operations (DGMO), overseeing major war efforts in the war on terror.

In October 2007, after three years, he was replaced at the ISI by Lt Gen Nadeem Taj.

Kayani was also present at the March 2007 meeting that took place between Musharraf and Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, when the former military ruler informed the top judge that he was suspended.

Accounts of that meeting narrated that Kayani was the only one among Musharraf's aides who did not speak a word.

In October 2007, Kayani's promotion papers for the appointment to the four-star rank was approved by the President Musharraf, and appointed him as the Vice Chief of Army Staff (VCOAS).

At the time of the promotion, Kayani ultimately superseded the senior-most army general, Lt-Gen. Khalid Kidwai, who was on an extension for one year.

On 28 November 2007, Kayani succeeded Musharraf as chief of army staff after Musharraf's retirement.

On 24 July 2010, Kayani's tenure was extended for three more years by Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani to continue the war efforts against the insurgent outfits.

Forbes named him the world's 34th most powerful person in 2011 and the world's 28th most powerful person in 2012.

Upon his promotion to two-star rank, Major-General Kayani served as the general officer commanding of the 12th Infantry Division stationed in Murree, deployed all over the LoC region and which comes under the X Corps.