Raheel Sharif
| General Raheel Sharif HI (M)[1] |
|
|---|---|
| 15th Chief of Army Staff | |
| Assumed office 29 November 2013 - Present |
|
| President | Mamnoon Hussain |
| Preceded by | Ashfaq Pervaiz Kayani |
| Inspector General Training and Evaluation at the General Headquarters | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 16 June 1956 Quetta, Balochistan, Pakistan |
| Alma mater | Government College Lahore Pakistan Military Academy Bundeswehr University Munich National Defense University Canadian Army Command and Staff College Royal College of Defense Studies |
| Awards | |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | |
| Service/branch | |
| Rank | |
| Unit | 6th FF Regiment |
| Commands | XXX Corps XI Division Commandant, Pakistan Military Academy Brigade Major of an Infantry Brigade Commander, 6 Frontier Force Regiment Commander, 26 Frontier Force Regiment |
| Battles/wars | War in North-West Pakistan 2014 Kashmir Skirmishes |
General Raheel Sharif (Urdu: راحیل شریف; born 16 June 1956), NI(M), HI(M), is a four-star rank army general, currently serving as 15th Chief of Army Staff of the Pakistan Army, since 2013.[2]
Contents
Early life and family
General Raheel Sharif was born in Quetta. He belongs to a Punjabi Rajput family[3][4][5] with roots in Punjab (in the town of Kunjah, Gujrat).[3] He has a prominent military background,[6] He is son of (late) Major Rana Muhammad Sharif.[6] His eldest brother Major 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.[7] 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.[3] 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.[8] He is married and has three children, two sons and a daughter.[6] He is an avid reader and enjoys hunting and swimming.[9]
Military service
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.[6] 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.[10]
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.[6]
Role in War on Terror
As the Inspector General for Training and Evaluation, he enhanced the military colleges in the country and provided unconventional warfare training to the troops.[11] 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.[11] In a matter of 1.5 years he has turned around the security situation in the whole country which is now fully moving in the right and positive direction.
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.[12]
General Raheel has the honour of being one of the most respected and well reputed Chief of the Pakistan Army and he has in a matter of less than 2 years, done for the country what couldn't be done in the previous 8–10 years. The nation today stands united behind him to curb the menace of terrorism from Pakistan across the board.
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.[7] 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.[13] Lieutenant General Haroon Aslam, a senior general, resigned over Sharif's elevation.[14] The other more-senior general, Rashad Mahmood was appointed as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee.[15] The News reported that General Aslam may have been superseded because of his action in the 1999 coup.[16]
In 2013, Sharif was conferred with Nishan-e-Imtiaz (military).[17] Raheel Sharif will retire as Chief of Army Staff (Pakistan) on November 2016.[18] In September 2015, Pervez Musharraf called for extending the tenure General Sharif and warned against a change in the military leadership, saying that "he was happy to see growing popularity of General Sharif because he was doing a wonderful job which needed to be continued. I wish he carries on with all this he is doing, What he is doing right now, it needs continuity and if there is any change in the leadership amidst this all, all good work which has been done so far would go in waste. So I can only wish and suggest that he should stay there.”[19]
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 is credited to have initiated the successful joint operation of Zarb-e-Azab"[20]
Awards and decorations
| Service Medals | ||
|---|---|---|
| 10 Years Service Medal[21] | ||
| 20 Years Service Medal[21] | ||
| 30 Years Service Medal[21] | ||
| Command and Staff College Centenary Medal[21] | ||
| Non-operational Military Awards | ||
| Nishan-e-Imtiaz (Order of Excellence Military)[21] | ||
| Hilal-e-Imtiaz (Crescent of Excellence)[21] | ||
| Commemorative Medals | ||
| Qarardad-e-Pakistan Tamgha (Resolution Day Golden Jubilee Medal)[21] | ||
| Tamgha-e-Istaqlal (Escalation versus India Medal)[21] | ||
| Hijri Tamgha (Hijri Medal)[21] | ||
| Tamgha-e-Jamhuriat (Democracy Medal)[21] | ||
| Independence Day Golden Jubilee Medal[21] | ||
| Tamgha-e-Baqa (Nuclear Test Medal)[21] | ||
| Foreign Awards | ||
| Order of Abdulaziz Al Saud (Saudi Arabia)[22] | ||
| Legion of Merit (United States) | ||
References
- ^ a b "Official Profile of Chief of Army Staff".
- ^ Mateen Haider (1 January 2013). "Lt Gen Raheel Sharif chosen as new army chief". Dawn (Dawn.Com). Retrieved 27 November 2013.
- ^ a b c "Luck plays role in Gen Sharif's promotion". The News. 28 November 2013. Retrieved 1 December 2013.
- ^ Hasan, Abdul Qadir (1 December 2013). "After Nishan-e-Haider". urdu.alarabiya.net (in Urdu). Retrieved 29 October 2014.
- ^ Mustafa, Nazia (29 November 2013). "From Sharif to Sharif". Nawaiwaqt Newspaper (in Urdu). Retrieved 29 October 2014.
- ^ a b c d e "Profile: Lt General Raheel Sharif". Dawn. 27 November 2013. Retrieved 27 November 2013.
- ^ a b Reuters (23 February 2011). "Lt Gen Raheel Sharif appointed new army chief – The Express Tribune". Tribune.com.pk. Retrieved 27 November 2013.
- ^ "Lt. General Raheel Sharif Appointed as Chief of Army Staff". Pakistan Tribune. 27 November 2013. Retrieved 27 November 2013.
- ^ "Welcome to ISPR". www.ispr.gov.pk. Retrieved 2015-09-06.
- ^ Luck plays role in Gen Sharif’s promotion Print Edition The News International, Shakil Shaikh, November 28, 2013 | Retrieved 7 July, 2015
- ^ a b Khan, Wajahat S. (29 November 2013). "Knows the rules, makes a pincer move". thenews.com.pk. Retrieved 3 December 2013.
- ^ "Profile: Raheel Sharif, Pakistan's 'strategic' army head". BBC. 27 November 2013.
- ^ Waraich, Omar (2013-11-27). "Gen. Raheel Sharif: Pakistan's New Army Chief Assumes Pivotal Job | TIME.com". World.time.com. Retrieved 2013-12-03.
- ^ "Haroon Aslam resigns following Gen Sharif's promotion to army chief". Tribune. 28 November 2013. Retrieved 3 December 2013.
- ^ "Gen Raheel Sharif new COAS, Gen Rashad Mahmood CJCSC". The News International. 28 November 2013. Retrieved 21 December 2013.
- ^ "Lt General Haroon Aslam resigns". The News International. 28 November 2013. Retrieved 21 December 2013.
- ^ "President honours army chief, JCSC head with Nishan-e-Imtiaz". Tribune. 20 December 2013. Retrieved 21 December 2013.
- ^ http://nation.com.pk/islamabad/26-Aug-2014/general-janjua-may-be-next-isi-dg
- ^ "Musharraf calls for extending tenure of Gen Raheel Sharif". Dawn. 18 September 2015. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
- ^ Afghanistan: Old problems, new hope, economist.com.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Raheel Sharif meets Chuck Hagel". 9 December 2013. Retrieved 7 July 2015.
- ^ "Gen Raheel meets with Saudi political, military leadership". Dawn. 5 February 2014. Retrieved 18 February 2014.
| Military offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Ashfaq Pervez Kayani |
Chief of Army Staff 2013 – Present |
Incumbent |
- Living people
- 1956 births
- People from Gujrat District
- People from Quetta
- Government College University, Lahore alumni
- National Defence University, Pakistan alumni
- Pakistan Military Academy alumni
- Bundeswehr University Munich alumni
- Chiefs of Army Staff, Pakistan
- Guerrilla warfare theorists
- Pakistani generals
- Recipients of Hilal-i-Imtiaz
- Recipients of Nishan-e-Imtiaz
- Foreign recipients of the Legion of Merit
- Recipients of the Order of Abdulaziz al Saud