Cheif of Army staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kyani. PHOTO: AFP
Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Pervaiz Kayani’s name appeared in the list of 500 most powerful people in the world published by the Foreign Policy (FP) Magazine’s May/June 2013 issue.
The individuals included in the FP Power Map come from different professions and industries. The magazine claims to using a “list of lists” approach to put the rankings together.
In 2012, General Kayani was ranked at 28 in the Forbes World’s Most Powerful People list. Director General of the Inter Services Intelligence Lieutenant General Zaheer-ul-Islam was ranked 52. The said list, along Forbes 100 Most Powerful Women list, The Wall Street Journal, the Fortune Global 500 and Global Journal Top 100 NGOs are some of the sources used to draft the FP list, in which General Kayani is listed as the only Pakistani.
The list also includes Afghan President Hamid Karzai, Burmese Leader Aung San Suu Kyi, United National Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, Microsoft chairman Bill Gates and Indian National Congress President Sonia Gandhi.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 30th, 2013.
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Why Altaf Bhai name was not the list.... I am supporting peaceful strike in Karachi to protest!!!
He is powerful because he has a gun in his hand........what when he retires?
I think leader of TTP and others like him are more powerful than this army guy.
@Ahad: Its because he's pretty much incharge of one of the most violent and largest cities on earth. It does give him a certain position of power if you think about it.
That the same list that has a Taliban leader and a Russian Mafia head included?
Mumbai's Mayor Sunil Prabhu is also in the same list.
@ahmad: Why do Pakistani’s love demonising their own military! In every (real) country in the world the military is (and probably should be) one of the strongest institutions, with the top brass amongst the most powerful in the nation. Its just in Pakistan that for some reason people love to whine and complain about it.
It may be a bit more prominent in Pakistan because of the complete incompetence of the bureaucracy and elected leaders, but that’s hardly the military’s fault!
and karzai is also one of them. . Lol
@khalsa: "@Yuri Kondratyuk: because india is not in hands of army but the civilian govt. TAKE THAT PAKISTAN"
Yuri is an Indian and was making the same point albeit tongue in cheek. In fact 19 Indians are on that list including India's defense minister who is the COAS' boss. Besides politicians, India was also represented by businessmen, spiritual leaders and leaders of global NGOs like Doctors without Borders and Amnesty International.
What is not mentioned in this article is that besides these 2 people, Hakimullah Mehsud also made that list. I think the conclusions are fairly clear.
Powerful..really!! Has he defeated Taliban? Most of the attacks on armed forces installations have been during his tenure.
@Muhammad Rohaan SadiQ
I wonder why Pakistanis cannot stomach anything positive happening in Afghanistan or for Afghanistan. Is it okay for Kayani to be on this list, when he clearly could not stop the raid on OBL, drones in Waziristan and the daily bombings that occur in Pakistan.
I bet you would have been happy to see Zaid Hamid, Musharraf or Im the Dim on this list.
Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai and Malalai Joya made the list of top 100 global thinkers of 2010 by Foreign Policy, I wonder what you have to say about that list.
Can news media stop this obsession with nonsensical & pointless rankings. What difference does it make for an ordinary Pakistanis if their Army chief is most powerful, the fact on the ground is that ordinary people are getting killed left & right for no reason. Why can't anyone do anything about it?
@Yuri Kondratyuk: because india is not in hands of army but the civilian govt. TAKE THAT PAKISTAN
General Kiyani has ostrich mentality .By puting your head under sand country's problems will not disappear. Because of his total silence and not asseting himself behind the scene the country has fallen into anarchy.
@Undo
"List is not trust worthy, as Mr. Hamid Karzai is also on the list, his authrotiy is restricted to four quarters of his palace."
Typical Pakistani parroting the ISPR language and Pakistan state narrative. If Karzai's power is restricted to the four quarters of his palace than Kayani's power is limited to GHQ in Rawalpindi.
Afghanistan President...Hami Karzai! Its really a joke...I dont agree with this list at all!
You people forget to see the name of Tehreeke Talibaan leader. His name is also in the list. So Kiyani and TTP head are equal?
@Undo @Evil I think the article misses to mention another important figure of pakistan but nevertheless the list has the name and it is "Hakimullah Mehsud"!.
I think Pakistan is the only country where a government employee appears in the list of the most powerful persons in the world. It tells you the state of affairs in Pakistan and how far off pakistan has moved to become a civilised society. Or when it comes to Pakistan, world takes 'the most powerful person' literally.
@Yuri Kondratyuk: @ayesha: we are glad about that... it shows the strength of our democracy and you should be ashamed!!
I can not imagine such a powerful man can not bring order into the country
The list makes no sense and is just a red herring. Why is Karzai on the list? A man who admits he gets pocket money from the CIA. As a Pakistani I know that the head of the the Indian Army is more powerful on the world stage and definitely in the region than Karzai or the Burmese politicians and Pakistanis should be realistic enough on this issue instead of pandering to a list made from the imagination of the US media. There are probably 50 Chinese that should be on that list who most of us don't even know exist.
Influential and powerful should also be kept separate. IK is influential as are a number of other people but they have no power as yet.
..........and how is that a good thing ?????
What is standard for this power?????????
i am terrible disappointed, My country is burning & bleeding with terrorism and there they are sitting in bunkers , smoking cigars and world portrays them as most powerful . This is so incorrect .
@Ayesha:
thats the issue you dont understand...being strong does not mean you win....it means to fight with a bigger enemy with better stragtegy. To be honest when 8 years back Musharraff warned of such crisis in the country you people were sitting at home at blaming him not to be a democratically elected. And forgot the issue in hand. Today your countrymen are fighting enemy who are much bigger much powerful. Some where our hate for Musharraf was so much tat we forgot the ground realities....and even now people are supporting CJ for realeasing terror suspects... You cant just put every thing on shoulders of Army ...other institution also need to do their jobs...!!!!!!
The list also has Hashim Raza, City administrator Karachi for God knows what reason.
Powerful?? or sold out?
You have lost respect due to Musharrafs episode along with getting extension from PPP govt.
why indian army chief can not be named even in the list of 5000 powerful people ? because he has to be just a soldier there...
is this a Joke :)
The name attached to it is misleading. The position, COAS of Pak is a Top 500 position globally. Regardless of the individual.
Joke of the year,If he was that much powerful,Our beloved Pakistan wouldn't have been exploding with bombs everyday opps sorry every hour :(
And General Bikram Singh is nowhere on the list. TAKE THAT INDIA!
good for him.Shame for country that generals are so powerful for no reason....
Well that surprised me.
Come on man IK should be on that list as well :)
That's a great news for Pakistan that one of the most high authority person in Pakistan is listed in top 500 powerful people of the world.