Raheel Sharif

General Raheel Sharif NI(M) HI(M) LOM (Urdu: راحیل شریف; born 16 June 1956) is a retired four-star army general of the Pakistan Army who served as the ninth chief of army staff from 29 November 2013 to 29 November 2016. After his retirement as Pakistan's army chief, he was appointed as the commander-in-chief of the Islamic Military Counter Terrorism Coalition, a 41-nation alliance of Muslim countries headquartered in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

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 eradicated taliban strongholds in the region and stabilized the entire 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 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.

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.