Raheel Sharif

General Raheel Sharif was born in Quetta, capital of Pakistan's Balochistan province. He belongs to a Punjabi Rajput (Bhatti) family 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. His elder brother Major Shabbir Sharif (28 April 1943 – 6 December 1971) was a Pakistan Army officer who was posthumously awarded the Nishan-e-Haider during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. Shabbir Sharif is regarded as the highest decorated military officer of the Pakistan Army who received both the Nishan-e-Haider (1971) and Sitara-e-Jurat (1965), and received the Sword of Honour at Pakistan Military Academy upon graduation. His second 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. Raheel Sharif is married and has four children, three sons and a daughter. Sharif received his formal education from Garrison Boys High School, Lahore Cantt, and later on he studied from the Government College in Lahore and afterward attended the 54th long course (L/C) of Pakistan Military Academy (PMA). ==Military career==

Early career 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. In 2005 he was promoted to the rank of Major General and assigned command of the coveted 11th Infantry Division in Lahore. 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. 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. ==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. 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 the Chief of Army Staff on 29 November 2016. Karachi Operation General Raheel Sharif launched Karachi Operation in 2013 to clear the city from the political and criminal gang rivalry which was creating havoc in the city. The Karachi which was counted as 6th most dangerous city of the world in 2013 eliminated out of list of 100 dangerous cities in 2017, making it more peaceful than Delhi, Chicago and Tehran. == Post-retirement ==

Islamic Military Counter Terrorism Coalition in 2017 In April 2017, Raheel got the approval of the Government of Pakistan to serve as head of Islamic Military Counter Terrorism Coalition a 41-nation Islamic military alliance being headquartered in Saudi Arabia. ==Awards and decorations==

Foreign decorations ==Effective dates of promotion==