Chief of Army Staff(COAS) General Raheel Sharif on Thursday turned 60 years of age; COAS was born on 16th June 1956 in Quetta and belongs to a family having an army background.
Respected Army Chief is a Rajput by cast, son of Major Rana Muhammad Shareef and his brother Major Rana Shabeer Shareef who was martyred in 1971 indo-pak war achieving the most prestigious award of army-“Nishan-e-Haider”.
General Raheel Shareef is the youngest among three brothers and two sisters, his elder brother Captain Mumtaz Shareef also has Sitara Bisalat to his credit while setting a glorious example of bravery but he got retired from army due to health issues.
General Raheel Shareef is nephew of the great Major Aziz Bhatti who dared to thrash back Indian Army in indo-pak war of 1965. He indeed set an unforgettable and remarkable precedent of valour that still inspires and is a beacon for the institution of army. Major Aziz Bhatti was awarded by Nishan-e-Haider which is the most honourable award.
General Raheel Shareef is married and has three children; two sons and a daughter. He went to Government College Lahore for studies and after that got appointed as Commissioned Officer in Pakistan Army in the year 1976.
After finishing training in Kakul Academy he joined Frontier Force Regiment which itself is exemplary for producing army champions. General Raheel Shareef fulfilled his duties in Gilgit, he also served as Corps Commander Gujrat and Corps Commander Lahore, after which was appointed as Inspector General Training. Army Chief Raheel Shareef has also been Military Secretary of Army Chief during Parvez Musharraf’s tenure.
After becoming Inspector General Training, Raheel Shareef gave a new dimension to the training of ‘Fauji Jawans’, he shifted the focus of training from war to conducting operations, raids and minor strikes mainly because he was giving more attention and importance to war against Taliban than any other less expected war and this smart strategy paid off greatly for Pak-Army in the war against terrorism.
He formulated Military Doctrine and other useful strategies and has also invented a strategy to counter “Cold Doctrine” devised by India.
In November 2013 General Raheel Shareef was appointed as 15th Army Chief of Pak-Army, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif approved his name for this prestigious post, General Raheel Shareef has also been awarded with Nishan-e-Bisalat for rendering his credible and splendid services for Pak-Army. General Raheel Shareef initiated Operation Zarb-e-Azb to uproot the cancerous menace of terrorism from the country which is continued with discernible success and will accomplish its target soon enough.
General Raheel Shareef will retire from his post this year in November. Former Army Chief Parvez Musharraf, rest of military leadership and the whole nation insisted General Raheel Shareef to extend his tenure but despite all this General Raheel Shareef negated any such possibility and said that he will retire this year when his tenure will come to an end.
