Asif Ibrahim As Ib Chief: -!- Interesting

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[size=4]Asif Ibrahim's appointment as Director of India's Intelligence Bureau will open a new chapter in the agency's history. Ibrahim will be the first Muslim to head the Intelligence Bureau, India's domestic intelligence-gathering agency.[/size][/size][/font][/color][color=#000000][font=arial, verdana, sans-serif, FreeSans][size=3]
[size=4]Ibrahim's appointment will demonstrate the government's confidence in the professionalism of its intelligence officers, beyond caste, religion and political affiliations.[/size][/size][/font][/color][color=#000000][font=arial, verdana, sans-serif, FreeSans][size=3]
[size=4]The government is also in the process of finalising the appointment of the next chief of the Research and Analysis Wing, India's external intelligence agency.[/size][/size][/font][/color][color=#000000][font=arial, verdana, sans-serif, FreeSans][size=3]
[size=4]Last week, Ranjit Sinha was appointed Director of the Central Bureau of Investigation.[/size][/size][/font][/color][color=#000000][font=arial, verdana, sans-serif, FreeSans][size=3]
[size=4]The new heads of the IB, R&AW and the CBI will be in office till the end of 2014 under the two-year fixed tenure rule applicable to these posts. That means these officers will be in charge of their respective agencies during the next election to the Lok Sabha, whether it is held in 2014 or earlier.[/size][/size][/font][/color][color=#000000][font=arial, verdana, sans-serif, FreeSans][size=3]
[size=4]Observers note that the government's choices have been made carefully to ensure that these law enforcement and intelligence agencies are headed by individuals who enjoy the confidence of the Congress party, which heads the United Progress Alliance government in New Delhi[/size][/size][/font][/color][color=#000000][font=arial, verdana, sans-serif, FreeSans][size=3]
[size=4]Ibrahim's selection is seen as the most important. As head of the Intelligence Bureau, he will monitor the political situation in the states before the general election and will be informally consulted by the government on the suitability and popularity of the Congress candidates.[/size][/size][/font][/color][color=#000000][font=arial, verdana, sans-serif, FreeSans][size=3]
[size=4]According to a retired intelligence official, "Ibrahim has been close to the Congress and used to be known as the trusted officer of the late Madhavrao Scindia In selecting him, the government has overlooked three officers one year senior to him ([i]in the Indian Police Service[/i])."[/size][/size][/font][/color][color=#000000][font=arial, verdana, sans-serif, FreeSans][size=3]
[size=4]"The government has sought to project his selection as based on merit and not his religion," the retired intelligence official added, "but many in the Opposition will see it as a vote-bank appointment to woo Muslim votes."[/size][/size][/font][/color][color=#000000][font=arial, verdana, sans-serif, FreeSans][size=3]
[size=4]Ibrahim -- a 1977 batch IPS Madhya Pradesh cadre officer -- has quite an impressive professional record with tenures abroad and, most importantly, in Kashmir If selected, he will supersede V Rajagopal, R N Gupta and Yashovardhan Azad, IPS officers of the 1976 batch.[/size][/size][/font][/color]