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Pakistan army vice-chief sworn in Fifty Pakistani troops 'missing'
(about 5 hours later)
The former head of Pakistani intelligence has been sworn in as the new vice-chief of the army. Up to 50 Pakistani troops have gone missing amid heavy fighting with pro-Taleban militants near the Afghan border, the army says.
Lt Gen Ashfaq Kiani is expected to become overall head of the army shortly if President Pervez Musharraf resigns from this position as promised. It said that the soldiers disappeared after militants attacked security posts and an army patrol near the town of Mir Ali in the region of North Waziristan.
The army said that about 60 suspected militants and 20 soldiers died in clashes in the area over the weekend.
Meanwhile Lt Gen Ashfaq Kiani has become the new vice-chief of the army.
The former head of Pakistani intelligence is expected to become overall head of the army shortly if President Pervez Musharraf resigns from this position as promised.
He would inherit an army under growing pressure from insurgents in the tribal areas near the Afghan border.He would inherit an army under growing pressure from insurgents in the tribal areas near the Afghan border.
An army spokesman says 80 people were killed there at the weekend, including 20 soldiers. Fiercest fighting
Crisis management "We have reports of around 50 troops missing. They are out of communications and their whereabouts have not been found," chief military spokesman Maj Gen Waheed Arshad told the AFP news agency.
Gen Ashfaq Kiyani is regarded as a professional and intelligent soldier, a man who gets things done. The army says that the troops have been missing since Monday morning following clashes near Mir Ali, the second biggest town in the tribal district of North Waziristan.
President Musharraf has relied on him for crisis management. This follows a weekend of heavy fighting. After a number of attacks on military convoys, the army sent helicopter gunships and jet fighters to target suspected militant positions in several villages.
He will need all of those skills to tackle the growing insurgency in Pakistan's tribal areas. Scores of people were killed. The army says they were militants and soldiers. But locals report at least 10 civilians were among the dead.
Pro-Taleban militants there have stepped up attacks on the army after a ceasefire collapsed in mid-July. Correspondents say that these military campaigns are deeply unpopular in Pakistan.
Since then the violence has spread with suicide bombings in Pakistani cities. They are widely seen as carried out under American pressure since Washington wants Pakistan to crack down on pro-Taleban and al-Qaeda fighters near the Afghan border.
Hundreds of people have been killed including more than 200. It is believed the upper ranks of the army broadly accept this policy whatever their personal misgivings. That includes the new deputy head of the army, Lt Gen Kiani.
Some of the fiercest fighting took place at the weekend in the tribal area of North Waziristan. Lt Gen Kiani faces a huge challenge in Waziristan
After a number of attacks on military convoys, the army sent helicopter gunships and even jet fighters to target suspected militant positions in several villages. Analysts say the danger is in the lower ranks where morale seems to be low.
Scores of people have been killed. The army says they are militants and soldiers. But local report at least 10 civilians are among the dead. Another batch of more than 200 soldiers were captured recently by militants, and appeared to have surrendered without a fight.
These military campaigns are deeply unpopular in Pakistan. Correspondents say that Lt Gen Kiani will need all his skills to tackle the growing insurgency in the tribal areas.
They are widely seen as carried out under American pressure since Washington wants Pakistan to crack down on pro-Taleban and Al Qaeda fighters near the Afghan border. Pro-Taleban militants have stepped up attacks on the army after a ceasefire collapsed in mid-July.
It is believed the upper ranks of the army broadly accept this policy whatever their personal misgivings. That includes Gen Kiani.
Analysts say the danger is in the lower ranks where moral seems to be low.
More than 200 soldiers captured recently by militants appear to have surrendered without a fight.