Surgical Strike Aftershock: Pakistan Spy Chief on his Way Out?

New Delhi: Pakistan’s spy chief faces an early exit from his job, a newspaper report said on Saturday, days after the Indian Army carried out surgical strikes to dismantle the terror infrastructure in Pakistan-held territory.

The report quoted an unnamed official who said Akhtar will likely switch places with Karachi commander Lt Gen Naveed Mukhtar. The swapping makes sense as Akhtar has already served in Karachi as Director General of the Sindh Rangers, The Nation quoted the official as saying.

The change of guard, however, depends on when Pakistan Army chief General Raheel Sharif retires, the official said. “It depends on whether the army chief gets an extension or retires as announced. I don’t think the notification of other changes in military command will come before that. There are a lot of variables involved,” the official told The Nation.WATCH: Pakistan's Denial Over Surgical Strikes Exposed

General Sharif, whose political ambitions, have kept Pakistan’s political fraternity, particularly Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, on tenterhooks, had announced earlier this year that he would not seek an extension and retire as planned in November.

The Nation said a spokesman for the country’s military denied the report, saying Akhtar will serve until his three-year term ends November next year. LISTEN IN: The Telephone Conversation That Exposed Pakistan

The development comes amid increasing friction between the government and army in Pakistan over the Uri attack, its diplomatic fallout and the Indian Army’s retaliatory surgical strikes.

On the other hand, the Pakistani Army establishment is livid over the CNN-News18 expose where a senior intelligence officer in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir confirmed the surgical strikes by Indian Special Forces that took place on September 30. The Army is furious that a civilian officer gave away details that Army had been steadfastly denying, including its hand in terror movement across the Line of Control (LoC).

Meanwhile, the civilian administration has told the Pakistani Army that it is difficult to keep a permanent lid on such information.