Raheel Sharif

General Raheel Sharif (Urdu: راحیل شریف; born 16 June 1956), NI(M), HI(M), is a retired four-star rank army general, who served as the 15th Chief of Army Staff of the Pakistan Army from 29 November 2013 till his retirement on 29 November 2016. On 6 January 2017, he was appointed the first Commander-in-Chief of the Islamic Military Alliance.
He carried out operations in North Waziristan, namely Operation Zarb-e-Azb which stabilized the North-west of the country. 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 reconcilliation 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 Nawaz Sharif in control of social and economic policy. General Sharif overruled Nawaz Sharif on any attempted peace overtures with Indiaand protected Pervez Musharraf from prosecution over Nawaz Sharif's ouster in the 1999 Pakistani coup d'etat. General Raheel Sharif reconciled Pakistan with America by striking against militant groups near the Afghan border, the Pakistani military carried out its first joint military exercises with Russia, and Pakistan deepend relations with China, are his signature foreign policy achievements.
He became the first Pakistani general to retire on time and not seek an extension in over twenty years. General Sharif has said that he is "ready to serve Pakistan" even after his retirement through helping military veterans. General Sharif has left a respected legacy in Pakistan, he is widely credited with reducing terrorism inside the country, violence in the country has been reduced to its lowest level since 2006 with an overall decline of 70% in terrorist attacks under his tenure.
After retirement from the Pakistan Armed Forces, Gen Raheel Sharif appointed commander-in-chief of the 39-nation Islamic Military Alliance designed to combat terrorism. Raheel Sharif's conditions were accepted by Saudi Arabia as Iran joined the Islamic Military Alliance and he accepted command.

General Raheel Sharif was born in Quetta, capital of Pakistan's Balochistan province. He belongs to a Rajput family with roots in Punjab (in the town of Kunjah, Gujrat). He has a prominent military background, and is the son of (late) Major Rana Muhammad Sharif. His eldest brother Major Rana Shabbir Sharif, was declared as the martyr of Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 by Pakistan and received Pakistan's highest military award Nishan-e-Haider posthumously. He is the youngest sibling among three brothers and two sisters. His other brother, Captain Mumtaz Sharif, also bravely served in Pakistan army and for his bravery he was awarded Sitara-e- Basalat, but got an early retirement due to medical reasons. From his mother's side, he is nephew of Major Raja Aziz Bhatti, another Nishan-e-Haider recipient, who was declared as the martyr of Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 by Pakistan. He is married and has three children, two sons and a daughter. He is an avid reader and enjoys hunting and swimming.

Raheel visits National Training Center of US Army

US Secretary of Defense Ash Carter and Pakistan's Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif

Sharif received his formal education from the Government College in Lahore and afterward attended the 54th long course (L/C) of Pakistan Military Academy (PMA) . After his passing out in October 1976, he was commissioned into the 6th Battalion of the Frontier Force Regiment, where his elder brother had also served. He served as an adjutant to the Pakistan Military Academy and joined an infantry brigade in Gilgit. As a brigadier, he commanded two infantry brigades. In 2002, he was also appointed as Military Secretary by then Chief of Army Staff General Pervez Musharraf succeeding Nadeem Taj, who later served as director general ISI.

In time, he was assigned command of the 11th Infantry Division in Lahore by General Pervez Musharraf. After commanding the division for over 2 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 for two years and then took over as Inspector General for Training and Evaluation in the Pakistan Army.

As the Inspector General for Training and Evaluation, he enhanced the military colleges in the country and provided unconventional warfare training to the troops. He also deals with the evaluation of military doctrines and war strategies with a view to shaping future training programs. He changed the army's focus more towards carrying out counter-insurgency operations against Tehrik-i-Taliban (Pakistani Taliban) militants.

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.

On 27 November 2013, Sharif was appointed as the 15th Chief of Army Staff of the Pakistan Army by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. According to sources, General Sharif is said to be uninterested in politics with very positive and balanced views. But he was elevated over two more senior generals. Lieutenant General Haroon Aslam, a senior general, resigned over Sharif's elevation. The other more-senior general, Rashad Mahmood was appointed as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee. The News reported that General Aslam may have been superseded because of his action in the 1999 coup.

In 2013, Sharif was conferred with Nishan-e-Imtiaz (military). Raheel Sharif retired as Chief of Army Staff (Pakistan) on 29th November 2016.

According to The Economist, "Unlike his predecessors, General Sharif appears to see jihadists, principally in the form of Pakistan’s own Taliban, as the country’s greatest threat, and has sought the help of the Americans in countering it."