Kayani's tenure extension an internal matter of Pak: US

''It was a matter for and a decision by the civilian government of Pakistan,'' State Department spokesman P J Crowley said at his daily news briefing.

Stratfor, a US-based intelligence analyst organisation, said Kayani's extension is a good news for the Obama Administration.

General Kayani has played a leading role in efforts to improve the political and security circumstances in Pakistan as well as bilateral relations with the US, especially in the context of Afghanistan, it said.

"The shift in the Pakistani attitude toward taking an aggressive stance against jihadists within its borders is a very nascent development and requires continuity of leadership, especially when it is not clear that a new army chief would necessarily pursue the current policy with the same vigour," the organisation said.

"This is one of those situations where individuals — at least in the short term — do matter in geopolitics."

The US Embassy in Pakistan had earlier denied reports that it had any role to play in extension of Kayani's tenure.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had met him during her trip to Islamabad early this week.

"I've had a number of very long, substantive meetings with General Kayani and today was the latest. We have very frank and open exchanges. I understand the challenges that they are facing and have a lot of appreciation for how they're addressing them," Clinton told the Fox News in an interview after the meeting.

Various issues including the Strategic Dialogue, security were discussed, reviewed and detailed during the trip, she said.

"So we had a very broad discussion about Afghanistan, what the best way - ways to secure peace and stability in Afghanistan. We talked about the recent dialogue between India and Pakistan and got their views on that. It was a really broad, comprehensive discussion," Clinton added.