The armed forces rarely produce celebrities, especially those that nations can be proud of. Globally, after the likes of Marshal Tito, Churchill, Eisenhower and De Gaulle there were few heroic members of the armed forces whom nations could look up to and admire. There were plenty of Duvaliers, Mobutus and Idi Amins whom nations would much rather forget. Starting with Gen Ziaul Haq, we in Pakistan, also had a spate of forgettable heads of the much revered armed forces. The Pakistan Army has always held high regard with the masses, but over the last few decades the people aspired for a leader whom we could truly be proud of, and in doing so, be proud once again of the institution we have always respected and loved so dearly.
In 2013, the country was overcast with a grim outlook for its future. Militancy in the northwest, renewed insurgency in Balochistan, political terrorism and an increasing crime rate in Pakistan’s economic hub, Karachi were issues to which there seemed no end in sight. With hostile threats gaining a foothold in various parts of the country, the future seemed ominous and formidable.
This hopelessness ended with the arrival of Gen (r) Raheel Sharif who would stop the onslaught of terrorism against our country. The man would be engraved in our history as the one who turned the tide when all seemed lost.
Owing to his experience in the field, knowledge on the job, and clarity of the goal, the general, through a stringent strategy and groundwork, executed the military operation Zarb-e-Azb, which was expedited after the horrendous APS incident.
The Army Public School attack saw 144 valuable, innocent lives lost to the most horrific terrorist attack in recent living memory. The nation ached and genuinely felt pain and anguish, and after a very long time truly felt united as Pakistanis and not as Sindhis, Balochis, Punjabis, Pathans or Baltis. At this heart wrenching moment, with a complete absence of leadership from any other quarter in the country, Gen (r) Raheel Sharif was the very first one to be on the scene, to comfort the grieving relatives. This was the first time in my life, I felt a leader could empathize with our pain. I feel this was the defining moment Gen (r) Raheel Sharif truly bonded with the nation.
He was instrumental in changing the army’s focus more towards carrying out counter- insurgency operations against Tehreek-e-Taliban (Pakistani Taliban) militants and led the army in what was termed as the most difficult fight against an invisible force.
Along with the full-fledged operation in the tribal areas and a zero tolerance approach against miscreants, the general laid great stress on the role of paramilitaries as a peace keeping force in the country, especially in Karachi, which subsequently resulted in a significant decrease in crime and violence in the city.
A year and a half after the start of Zarb-e-Azb, phenomenal successes were achieved, with the last pockets close to the Pakistan-Afghan border being cleared, thus breaking the backbone of terrorists and dismantling their operational structure. Through intelligence-based operations, he managed to bust sleeper cells of terrorists, taking out 3,400 terrorists and destroying 837 hideouts from where they were carrying out terrorist activities.
General Raheel was also a brilliant negotiator and helped the government in ending the Baloch insurgency through reconciliation and dialogue. This helped reduce violence and provided a sense of peace and closure to the nation from a nagging insurgency that made Pakistanis feel the dismemberment of the nation was imminent. The negotiations allowed amnesty for militants and integrated them into mainstream Pakistani society.
His policies towards terrorism and militancy reduced terrorism by 70% in the country and according to Global Terrorism Index 2016, the deaths due to terrorist activities were reduced by 45%. Such a reduction in terrorism related violence is no ordinary feat, considering the innumerable variables involved in terrorist activities in Pakistan. Among his foreign policy achievements, General Raheel Sharif reconciled Pakistan with America by striking against militant groups near the Afghan border. He carried out Pakistan’s first joint military exercise with Russia, and deepened the friendly relations with China.
His regime also played its part in improving Pakistan’s development with a new brigade level military unit created specifically to protect the routes used in the work on China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. Please note that CPEC is one of the most important economic developments in the history of Pakistan. It has the potential to make Pakistan go from a geo-political ‘has been’ wedged between India and a rising Iran to a regional economic powerhouse.
While meeting and delivering at all fronts, the COAS realised the importance of the army becoming a self-sustainable unit and thus during his time, local production of defence equipment was increased which resulted in Pakistan saving $1.14 billion in 2016. General Raheel’s policies also assisted in strengthening the oft precarious democratic process as he made sure not to interfere in the mandate of the elected government, preferring to focus on the issues of national security and foreign relations. This also led to an increase in the respect and level of decorum attached to the army and especially the office of the COAS. This was an extremely important turning point for Pakistan which witnessed a highly politicized army now assuming the role of dedicated and once again, revered guardians of the nation.
From the bizarre atmosphere on roads during long drawn out days of the ‘dharna’ to the lockdown of Islamabad, at several instances it seemed that martial law was in the offing. Though tempting for most yesteryear generals, Gen Raheel Sharif resisted and did what was necessary for the future generations of the country. He 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 Nawaz Sharif in control of social and economic policy. He became the first army chief in 20 years to not seek an extension and retired on time.
Raheel Sharif was born on 16 June 1956 in Quetta to a Punjabi Rajput family. The family had a strong military background starting from his father Major Rana Muhammad Sharif, uncle Major Aziz Bhatti Shaheed and elder brother Major Shabbir Sharif Shaheed (the latter two bestowed with the highly honourable medals of Nishan-e-Haider, Pakistan’s highest military award in the 1965 and 1971 wars respectively).
General Raheel passed his intermediate examinations from the prestigious Government College University (GCU) before attending the 54th Long Course of the Pakistan Military Academy (PMA). After passing out from the academy in October 1976, Sharif was commissioned into the 6th Battalion of the Frontier Force Regiment, where his elder brother had also served.
In time, he was assigned command of the 11th Infantry Division in Lahore. After commanding the division for over two years, he was posted as Commandant of the Pakistan Military Academy at Kakul.
Following his promotion to Lieutenant General, Sharif served as Corps Commander at Gujranwala for two years and then took over as Inspector General for Training and Evaluation in the Pakistan Army. After serving in various positions of the institution, General (r) Raheel was appointed as the 15th Chief of Army Staff on 29th November 2013.
Many thought that General Raheel’s career would be overshadowed by his family’s glorious military background, but the general proved them wrong by living up to the names of his martyred family members who gave the ultimate sacrifice in service of the nation. We bid farewell to a leader who has made us feel proud as Pakistanis and who has given us so much to be thankful for. We would be truly fortunate to see him serving our nation in some other capacity in the future.
ACHIEVEMENTS:
1. Brazilian ‘Order of Merit’ award
2. Nishan-e-Imtiaz
3. Hilal-i-Imtiaz (Military)
4. US Legion of Merit medal
5. Order of Abdulaziz al Saud (Saudi Arabia)
6. Military Merit of the First Order (Jordan)
7. Turkish Legend of Merit (Turkey)
