Pakistan's man in Kashmir surprises many

Pakistan's portion of Kashmir is heavily guarded by troops

By CNN's Talat Hussain

(CNN) -- A fortnight ago in the Kashmir territory controlled by Pakistan, few people had heard the name Sardar Muhammad Anwar Khan.

Today, the man is likely to become the 12th president of the Azad Jamu and Kashmir -- the official name of the slice of territory, which became part of Pakistan after a battle with India 54 years ago.

Khan is not a politician. He is a freshly retired major general -- the third most senior rank -- of the Pakistan Army.

Although of Kashmiri origin and family background, he stayed clear of the political fray of Kashmir -- an arena of tremendous political and social intrigue.

His nomination for the post of the president has surprised even the most veteran observers of Kashmiri politics.

Not the least because the standard rules of the military service in Pakistan do not permit an retired officer to accept any office for at least two years after retirement.

Khan got retired only last week. His nomination has the backing of the President of Pakistan, general Pervez Musharraf, who is also the head of a six-member council that controls the reigns of real authority in Azad Kashmir.

Low tolerance

Despite hard negotiations at a summit in Agra earlier this month, India and Pakistan failed to agree on disputed Kashmir

Most political observers are of the view that the nomination of Khan for the seat of the president of Azad Kashmir and the full endorsement given to it by Pakistan's military authorities is a signal from Islamabad that it will not tolerate the usual street-fighting style of Kashmiri politicians.

Strategically the Azad Kashmir territory is most important for Pakistan because just across the Line of Control dividing Kashmir sit Indian forces in a state of high alert.

There is no sign of any Kashmir politician protesting the nomination of Khan. In fact the prime minister of the newly elected 48-member legislative assembly of Azad Kashmir has already happily accepted the candidature of Khan.

And although the opposition party led by the outgoing prime minister has gone through the motions of fielding its own candidate, even they know that it is a vain quest.

Khan, though elected by the legislative assembly and the council, has an unbeatable advantage of being the choice of the Pakistan army.