In 1972, he was promoted as Major, continuing his service with the ISI in Karachi, where he worked on the classified assignments covering the security and intelligence management. In 1980s, he went to attend the National Defence University (NDU) and graduated with MSc in War studies before posting back to the Military Intelligence (MI) where Colonel Kiani worked with then-Brigadier Pervez Musharraf on Siachen mission helping him to secure two intermediate posts, Bilafond La in Siachen Glacier.