Raheel Sharif

In April 2017, Raheel got the approval of the Government of Pakistan to serve as head of Islamic Military Counter Terrorism Coalition a 39-nation Islamic military alliance being headquartered in Saudia Arabia.

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 Chief of Army Staff (Pakistan) on 29 November 2016.

On 27 November 2013, Sharif was appointed as the 15th Chief of Army Staff of the Pakistan Army by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

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.

For the first time in twenty years, a general retired on time (without seeking extension of tenure) with General Sharif's retirement. General Sharif said that he was "ready to serve Pakistan" even after his retirement. General Sharif left a respected legacy in Pakistan. 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.

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. He has the distinction of commanding two infantry units, 6FF and 26FF as a Lt. Colonel and also as an Acting Brigade Commander in Sialkot during 1999 India-Pakistan escalation. During the Army monitoring of 2000 he was given control of Gujranwala district and is credited for bringing substantial administrative and social reforms to the area. As a Brigadier, he commanded two infantry brigades. In 2001, he was appointed Chief of Staff of 30 Corps Guranwala. Due to US invasion of Afghanistan he was then posted as Chief of Staff at Corps Head Quarters Quetta, Balochistan to handle the situation on the Pak-Afghan border. In 2004 he was selected to join the prestigious Royal College of Defence Studies, Uk where he graduated with distinction. In 2005 he was promoted to the rank of Major General and assigned command of the coveted 11th Infantry Division in Lahore by General Pervez Musharraf. 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 15th Chief of Army Staff of Pakistan.

Raheel Sharif (Urdu: راحیل شریف ; born 16 June 1956), NI(M), HI(M) , is a retired Pakistan Army four-star general who served as the 15th Chief of Army Staff of the Pakistan Army. He is considered as the most popular army general in the country's history. After his retirement as Pakistan's Army Chief, he was appointed as the Commander-in-Chief of the Islamic Military Counter Terrorism Coalition, a 39-nation alliance of Muslim countries headquartered in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

General Raheel Sharif was born in Quetta, capital of Pakistan's Balochistan province. He belongs to a family of Rajput with roots in Punjab (in the town of Kunjah, Gujrat). He has a prominent military background, and is the son of (late) Major Muhammad Sharif. He is the youngest sibling among three brothers and two sisters. his elder brother was Shabbir Sharif (28 April 1943 – 6 December 1971) was a Pakistani Army officer who was posthumously awarded the Nishan-e-Haider during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. He is the only person ever who received both the Nishan-e-Haider and Sitara-e-Jurat for his bravery. He is regarded as the most decorated officer of the Pakistan Army. and His other 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 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 four children, three sons and a daughter. He is an avid reader and enjoys hunting and swimming.