General Ashfaq Kayani, known as a tough professional and a gentleman soldier, took over the command of the Pakistani army yesterday, making him one of the most powerful men in the nuclear-armed nation.

The chain-smoking 56-year-old replaced General Musharraf as Pakistan's 14th Chief of Army Staff in a ceremony at Pakistani military headquarters in Rawalpindi.

The son of an army NCO, General Kayani received his commission in the Pakistani army in 1971. His father died when he was training at the military academy. The tragedy put the burden of supporting his family on his shoulders — he was the eldest of four brothers.

A man of few words, General Kayani has a reputation as a hard-working officer who climbed rapidly through military ranks. Promoted to three-star general, he was appointed in 2002 as commander of the key Rawalpindi Corps.

In 2003 President Musharraf put General Kayani in charge of the investigation into two assassination attempts against him and applauded the way that he got the country's rival intelligence services to work together for a change.

Within months General Kayani had unravelled the two plots and arrested most of the participants. He was rewarded in 2004 with a promotion to head the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Pakistan's premier spy agency, which spearheads the hunt for al-Qaeda militants as well as providing internal security.

The control of the ISI is crucial to maintaining a firm grip on power in Pakistan. The spy agency is not only responsible for intelligence gathering but also acts as determinant of Pakistan's foreign policy and serves as an instrument for promoting the military's domestic political agenda.

Under General Kayani the spy agency, which worked closely with American and British intelligence services, achieved some important successes in combating al-Qaeda and home-grown Islamic militancy.

Last month he was appointed as Vice-Chief of Army Staff, clearing the way for him to succeed General Musharraf, who had occupied the post for more than nine years. The US-trained General Kayani is known for his pro-Western views and is regarded as the right man for the job as Pakistan passes through a critical phase in its history.

The country is faced with a deepening political crisis and a rise in Islamic militancy in the north. There is also a growing US pressure to do more to combat al-Qaeda and Taleban fighters operating from the lawless tribal region bordering Afghanistan.

Defence analysts believe that General Kayani has the ability to turn the army around. His first job would be to lift morale, which has plummeted after recent setbacks in the campaign against Islamic militants in the borderlands.

Hundreds of troops were recently taken prisoners by rebels in the troubled Waziristan region and later freed in return for the release of key militant leaders. Hundreds of soldiers have been killed by suicide bombers who have relentlessly attacked army convoys, camps and mess halls.

Thousands of soldiers are locked in a fierce battle with Islamic militants who seized control of a vast swath in Swat, North West Frontier Province, which has become a new frontline in Pakistan's war against Islamism.

General Kayani is not known for his political ambition and had kept a low profile in domestic politics until last month, when he was involved in negotiations with Benazir Bhutto on a power-sharing deal with President Musharraf.

Defence analysts have said that the general is likely to lower the political profile of the army, which has come under intense criticism at home because of President Musharraf's recent domestic policies. However, the top post in the army would remain a key position in Pakistan, where the army has ruled for more than half of the country's 60-year history.

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