Raheel Sharif

General Raheel Sharif (Urdu: ; born 16 June 1956) is a retired four-star army general of the Pakistan Army who served as the 9th Chief of Army Staff from 29 November 2013 to 29 November 2016. After his retirement as Pakistan's army chief, Raheel Sharif has been serving as the first commander of the Islamic Military Counter Terrorism Coalition, a 41-nation alliance of Muslim countries headquartered in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia since 6 January 2017.

Under General Raheel Sharif's command, the Pakistan Army carried out anti-terrorism operations across the country. The most important of these was in North Waziristan, namely Operation Zarb-e-Azb which targeted Taliban strongholds in the region. He expanded the role of paramilitaries in Karachi which is widely credited with reducing the level of violence in Pakistan's commercial capital. The Pakistani military under his command has also supported the democratically elected government on the federal level and the Baloch provincial and local government in ending the Balochistan insurgency by pursuing reconciliation and integration of former militants back into mainstream Pakistani society. General Sharif also developed a new brigade-level military unit to help protect and secure the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor which runs through Balochistan province. General Sharif helped to develop Pakistan's indigenous defence industry which resulted in the savings of more than $1.14 billion of Pakistan's forex, over a year and half time period.

General Sharif achieved his objectives by strengthening the role of the military in affairs directly concerning national security and foreign policy, while leaving the civilian government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in control of social and economic policy. and reconciled Pakistan with America by striking against militant groups near the Afghan border, carrying out Pakistan's first joint military exercises with Russia, and deepening relations with China.

General Sharif left a respected legacy in Pakistan. He said that he was "ready to serve Pakistan" even after his retirement. He is widely credited with reducing terrorism inside the country; violence in the country was reduced to its lowest level since 2006, with an overall decline of 80% in terrorist attacks under his tenure.

Early life and education General Raheel Sharif was born in Quetta, capital of Pakistan's Balochistan province. He belongs to a Kashmiri Sheikh family from Kunjah in Gujrat District, Punjab Province.

He has a prominent military background, and is the son of (late) Major Muhammad Sharif. His elder brother Major Shabbir Sharif (28 April 1943 – 6 December 1971) was a Pakistan Army officer who was posthumously awarded the Nishan-e-Haider during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. Shabbir Sharif is regarded as the highest decorated military officer of the Pakistan Army who received both the Nishan-e-Haider (1971) and Sitara-e-Jurat (1965), and received the Sword of Honour at Pakistan Military Academy upon graduation. His second brother, Captain Mumtaz Sharif, served in Pakistan Army and for his bravery in saving soldiers from a burning tank during an exercise accident, was awarded Sitara-e-Basalat, he received an early retirement due to his injuries. From his mother's side, he is related to Major Raja Aziz Bhatti, another Nishan-e-Haider recipient, who was declared as the martyr of Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 by Pakistan. Raheel Sharif is married and has four children, three sons and a daughter.

In 2005 he was promoted to the rank of Major General and assigned command of the coveted 11th Infantry Division in Lahore. After commanding the division for over two years, he was posted as Commandant of the Pakistan Military Academy, Kakul. Following his promotion to Lieutenant General, Sharif served as a Corps Commander Gujranwala and then as the Inspector General for Training and Evaluation of the Pakistan Army before becoming the 9th Chief of Army Staff of Pakistan.

General Sharif has spearheaded a thinking in Pakistan military since 2007 that fighting Taliban inside Pakistan is more important than focusing on India, Pakistan's arch rival since independence.

Chief of Army Staff

On 27 November 2013, Sharif was appointed as the 9th Chief of Army Staff of the Pakistan Army by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

In 2013, Sharif was conferred with Nishan-e-Imtiaz (military). He has the distinction of being conferred with 5 international military awards, highest for any Pakistani Army Chief till date, in recognition for his outstanding leadership in the fight against terrorism and bringing stability to the region. General Raheel Sharif retired as the Chief of Army Staff on 29 November 2016.

Karachi Operation

General Raheel Sharif launched Karachi Operation in 2013 to clear the city from the political and criminal gang rivalry which was creating havoc in the city. Karachi, which had been ranked the sixth most dangerous city in the world in 2013, dropped off the list of the 100 most dangerous cities in 2017.

Post-retirement

Islamic Military Counter Terrorism Coalition

In April 2017, Raheel got the approval of the Government of Pakistan to serve as head of Islamic Military Counter Terrorism Coalition a 41-nation Islamic military alliance being headquartered in Saudi Arabia.

Awards and decorations

Nishan-e-Imtiaz (Military)

(Order of Excellence)Hilal-e-Imtiaz (Military)

(Crescent of Excellence)Tamgha-e-Baqa (Nuclear Test Medal)

1998Tamgha-e-Istaqlal Pakistan (Escalation with India Medal)

Wiladat-e-Quaid-e-Azam

(100th Birth Anniversary of

Muhammad Ali Jinnah)

1976Hijri Tamgha (Hijri Medal)

1979Jamhuriat Tamgha (Democracy Medal)

1988Qarardad-e-Pakistan Tamgha (Resolution Day

Golden Jubilee Medal)

1990Tamgha-e-Salgirah Pakistan (Independence Day

Golden Jubilee Medal)

1997Command & Staff College Quetta

Instructor's Medal

Foreign decorations Foreign AwardsOrder of Abdulaziz al Saud The Legion of Merit (Degree of Commander) Order of Military Merit Turkish Legion of Merit The Order of Military Merit (Grand Cordon)

Effective dates of promotion