General Raheel Sharif – the gift that kept giving

General Raheel Sharif has a long list of success and achievements marking his tenure as Chief of Army Staff.

The biggest credit to Gen Sharif is that he did not overthrow an elected government during the sit-ins staged by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT).

The fact of the matter is that even many federal ministers believed that the military was all set to take over the reins of the country, as the ruling party had become very unpopular. However, it was Gen Raheel Sharif’s sagacity and professional approach, which led to him strictly following the constitutional ambit, and rejecting all sorts of temptations from various quarters.

Operation Zarb-eAzb is the COAS’s second biggest achievement. This is when the military for the first time not only entered the most rugged North Waziristan Agency but also eliminated terrorist networks and infrastructure.

The military was also instrumental in cleansing the remnants of al Qaeda, Haqqani Network, East Turkistan Independence Movement (ETIM), Daesh (Islamic State) and many others. All those terrorists were either killed or forced to slip into Afghanistan, crossing the Pak-Afghan bordering areas.

Only one and a half year after the start of Operation Zarb-e-Azb, phenomenal successes were achieved. The last pockets of terrorists close to Pak – Afghan Border are being cleared; terrorists’ backbone was broken; their main infrastructure was dismantled; the nexus with sleeper cells largely disrupted; and Intelligence Based Operations (IBOs) continue to burst remaining sleeper cells.

According to the ISPR, 3,400 terrorists were killed, 837 hideouts – from where they were carrying out their terrorists activities – were destroyed. During the last 18 month, over 13,200 IBOs were carried out across the country, in which 183 hardcore terrorists were killed and 21,193 arrested. IBOs continued even after this.

However, the success came at a heavy price – 488 valiant officers and men from the Pakistan Army, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Baluchistan Frontier Corps, and Sindh Rangers, sacrificed their lives, while 1,914 were injured during the course of the operation.

The support of entire nation for its valiant armed forces, and the resolve expressed against terrorism after the December 2014 attack on Army Public School Peshawar, fuelled the operation further.

Gen Sharif also has the credit of bringing on one platform all political parties, who have backed the army’s operations. Moreover, the National Action Plan (NAP) is another success as all the political outfits got together and supported the move.

The political and military leadership also agreed to install 11 military courts under a civilian rule for the first time in the country’s history. 142 cases were referred to military courts and 55 cases decided, 87 cases are in process, while 31 hardcore terrorists have been convicted.

Another feather is his cap is the Karachi Operation, where proscribed organisations once had the last word on the life and properties of the common public, while security forces remained under constant threat.

However, within a year or so, Karachi has returned to normalcy and the military operations have witnessed phenomenal success. Peace has boosted business activity in the port city of Karachi where terrorist and political crimes are being tackled with an iron fist.

The Balochistan operation is another success story where for the first time the civilian leadership was allowed to lead the operation and the army, FC and other law enforces supported it. Peace has also returned to Balochistan and all private militias, religious and sectarian terrorist groups have been targeted equally.

Another success of General Raheel Sharif was revival of festivities and national events in FATA and Balochistan. After decades, Independence Day and March 23 were celebrated and THE Pakistani flag was hoisted with zeal and fervour.