Ahead of the retirement of top-ranking officials considered close to Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf [Images], six major generals were on Friday promoted as lieutenant generals, including a key loyalist who takes over as the head of the Inter Services Intelligence.

Lt Gen Nadeem Taj -- currently director general of military intelligence as a two-star general -- will take over as the ISI DG, succeeding Lt Gen Ashfaq Pervez Kiyani, who is being considered the frontrunner in the race to take over as chief of army staff when Musharraf doffs his uniform.

General Taj has been closely associated with Musharraf, having been his military secretary at the time of the 1999 coup. Then a brigadier, he had been travelling along the general in the plane from Colombo, which was denied permission to land at Karachi, triggering off the coup against then Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

He had also testified in the treason trial against the deposed prime minister, making it clear that the coup was not pre-meditated and occurred following instructions to prevent the Pakistan International Airlines civilian flight carrying the army chief from landing.

In the other promotions, Major General Mohsin Kamal, HI, currently the force commander, Northern Areas, takes over as the GOC of the Rawalpindi-based XI Corps on his promotion, succeeding Lt Gen Tariq Majeed. Gen Kamal held a succession of key command and staff posts, including being the commandant of the prestigious Staff College at Quetta.

The new posting of Gen Majeed, who had been in overall command of the operation against the radical clerics in Islamabad's Lal Masjid, has not been announced yet.

Musharraf joint candidate of PML & coalition partners: