By IANS,
Islamabad : A Pakistani website Friday posted a photograph showing the country’s army chief submissively listening to America’s top military commander on the manner in which the war against terror should be run.
The photograph, carried by Dawn.com, shows Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kiyani standing at attention, a sheepish smile on his face, while Admiral Mike Mullen, the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, gesticulates with both his hands.
To Kiyani’s right, Maj. Gen. Ahmed Shuja Pasha, the Pakistani Army’s director general of military operations, smiles ingratiatingly.
The August 27, 2008 photograph released by the US defence department, was taken on board the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln when Kiyani and Pasha were summoned for a review of the manner in which the war against terror was being run.
It is a clear indication that despite its protestations to the contrary, the Pakistani Army has very little leeway in the manner in which the US-led forces are operating in the tribal regions along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.
An Internet search revealed that the photograph had also been carried on the Pakistan Defence website, which claims to be the “Web’s authoritative source on Pakistan’s security”.
Given this, the website’s caption for the photograph – “Boss is always right – we are supposed to be smiley” – is pretty telling.