General Raheel Sharif (born 16 June 1956), NI(M), HI(M), is a four-star rank army general and the current (15th) Chief of Army Staff of the Pakistan Army, in office since 2013.
Early life and family
Raheel Sharif was born on 16 June 1956 in Quetta to a Punjabi Rajput family of prominent military background, which has its roots in the town of Kunjah Gujrat in the province of Punjab. His father was Major Muhammad Sharif. His eldest brother Major Shabbir Sharif, was declared as the martyr of Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 by Pakistan and received Nishan-e-Haider posthumously. He is the youngest sibling among three brothers and two sisters. His other brother, Mumtaz Sharif has also served in Pakistan army, but got an early retirement due to medical reasons. He is the 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.
Military service
Sharif received his formal education from the Government College in Lahore and afterward attended the Pakistan Military Academy. After graduation in 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 time, he was assigned command of the 11th Infantry Division in Lahore by General Pervez Musharraf. Sharif was also the General Commanding Officer of an infantry division and Commandant of the Pakistan Military Academy. Following his promotion to Lieutenant General, Sharif served as a corps commander for two years and then took over as Inspector General for Training and Evaluation in the Pakistan Army.
Role in War on Terror
As the Inspector General for Training and Evaluation, he enhanced the military colleges in the country and provided unconventional 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 Taliban militants.
Sharif has played an important role in convincing other senior officers in the army that the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and assorted militants inside Pakistan are as much of a threat as India. However, Sharif stressed that all possible threats will be dealt with accordingly, be it internally or externally.
Chief of Army Staff
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. 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).
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."
Early life and family
Raheel Sharif was born on 16 June 1956 in Quetta to a Punjabi Rajput family of prominent military background, which has its roots in the town of Kunjah Gujrat in the province of Punjab. His father was Major Muhammad Sharif. His eldest brother Major Shabbir Sharif, was declared as the martyr of Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 by Pakistan and received Nishan-e-Haider posthumously. He is the youngest sibling among three brothers and two sisters. His other brother, Mumtaz Sharif has also served in Pakistan army, but got an early retirement due to medical reasons. He is the 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.
Military service
Sharif received his formal education from the Government College in Lahore and afterward attended the Pakistan Military Academy. After graduation in 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 time, he was assigned command of the 11th Infantry Division in Lahore by General Pervez Musharraf. Sharif was also the General Commanding Officer of an infantry division and Commandant of the Pakistan Military Academy. Following his promotion to Lieutenant General, Sharif served as a corps commander for two years and then took over as Inspector General for Training and Evaluation in the Pakistan Army.
Role in War on Terror
As the Inspector General for Training and Evaluation, he enhanced the military colleges in the country and provided unconventional 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 Taliban militants.
Sharif has played an important role in convincing other senior officers in the army that the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and assorted militants inside Pakistan are as much of a threat as India. However, Sharif stressed that all possible threats will be dealt with accordingly, be it internally or externally.
Chief of Army Staff
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. 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).
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."
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