Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani and ISI chief Lt Gen Zaheerul Islam are the only two from Pakistan who have made it to a list led by US President Barack Obama, Pope Benedict XVI, Angela Merkel, Facebook’s founder and other global leaders on Forbes’s ranking of the mightiest earthlings. The American magazine placed General Kayani on 8th spot for “controlling nuclear weapons and one of the world’s largest standing armies in an unstable country.” General Kayani had earlier given a statement issued by the public relations wing of the Army that caused a stir in the news. He said: “As a nation, Pakistan is passing through a critical phase.” Following General Kayani is Inter-Services Intelligence’s (ISI) recently inducted chief, Zaheerul Islam. Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi have been named among the top 20 most powerful persons in the world by Forbes magazine.
Kayani, ISI chief on Forbes Most Powerful People list
