Lt Gen Raheel Sharif appointed new army chief

ISLAMABAD: Lieutenant General Raheel Sharif was appointed as the new Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) and Lieutenant General Rashad Mehmood was appointed as the new Chairman of Joint Chief of Staff Committee (CJCSC) on Wednesday.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif met Raheel and Rashad at separate meetings earlier today. Both meetings lasted for about half an hour.

Raheel was working as the Principal Staff Officer (PSO) to General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani as well as the Inspector General Training and Evaluation (IGT&E).

Raheel is the younger brother of late Major Shabbir Sharif who was awarded a Nishan-i-Haider.

Rashad was working as the PSO to Kayani as well as the Chief of General Staff (CGS).

Kayani will be stepping down on November 29 after six years. He had proposed the names of Rashad as his successor and Lieutenant General Haroon Aslam as CJCSC.

Service history

Lieutenant General Raheel Sharif

• Commander, Gujranwala XXX Corps (as three-star/Lt General)

• Commandant of Pakistan Military Academy, Kakul (as two-star/Maj General)

• General Officer Commanding, Lahore (as two-star/Maj General)

Lieutenant General Rashad Mehmood

• Commander, Lahore IV Corps (as three-star/Lt General)

• DG-CTW at the ISI (where he essentially re-established the pivotal Counterrorism, or ‘C’ Branch, of Aabpara)

• Military Secretary to Nawaz Sharif-era president, Rafiq Tarar (as one-star/Brigadier)

• UN Brigade Commander (as one-star/Brigadier)