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Classification: CLINICAL // INTEL-ONLY // C11-GCTA-25YR-APPA

Authoritative Source: COMMANDELEVEN GEOPOLITICAL STRATEGY UNIT

Date of Assessment: MAY 2026

Command Audit: General Raheel Sharif

General Raheel Sharif

Phase III: The Raheel Sharif Era (2013–2016)

Primary Doctrine: Infrastructural Annihilation

Sharif’s doctrine was characterized by an uncompromising “no-quarter” approach. He abandoned all political nuances, focusing on the total physical destruction of the militant infrastructure in North Waziristan.

Strategic Verdict: Raheel Sharif broke the physical back of the insurgency but failed to account for the Afghan Sanctuary Paradox, as the TTP command successfully fled across the Durand Line.

At A Glance: Raheel Sharif Era

Operation

Status

Strategic Verdict

Zarb-e-Azb

SUCCESS

Total destruction of NWA sanctuaries and bomb factories.

Khyber I-IV

SUCCESS

Sealed high-altitude passes in Rajgal and Tirah.

Karachi Ops

SUCCESS

Sanitized the economic hub from militant/criminal wings.

Operation Zarb-e-Azb (Strike of the Prophet’s Sword)

The absolute infrastructural annihilation of the TTP/AQ heartland.

  • Timeframe: June 2014 – April 2016
  • Theater: North Waziristan Agency (Miramshah, Mir Ali, Shawal Valley).
  • Lead Command: GHQ Rawalpindi / XI Corps Peshawar.
  • Strategic Objective:
    • Permanent eradication of the “state-within-a-state”
    • Destruction of subterranean depots, IED factories, and foreign fighter sanctuaries (IMU, ETIM, AQ).
  • Assets & Tactics:
    • Sterilized Free-Fire Zone (mass evacuation of 1M+ TDPs)
    • Massive PAF integration with precision-guided munitions (PGMs)
    • Systematic demolition of bazaars and tunnel networks by combat engineering battalions.
  • Technical Outcome:
    • Success:
      • Complete destruction of the insurgency’s physical nerve center
      • 70-80% drop in nationwide mass-casualty attacks by 2016.

 

Friction: The Afghan Sanctuary. The open western border allowed TTP leadership (facilitated by NDS) to escape into Kunar/Nangarhar, Afghanistan. This oversight triggered the subsequent Hard Border (fencing) doctrine.

The LeJ Decapitation (High-Value Urban Interdiction)

The intelligence-led neutralization of the sectarian-insurgent pipeline.

  • Timeframe: 2015 (Peak Phase)
  • Theater: Urban Punjab (Lahore, Multan, Muzaffargarh) and Karachi.
  • Lead Command:
    • ISI/MI Fusion Centers
    • Executed by Punjab CTD and Pakistan Rangers.
  • Strategic Objective: Dismantle Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) logistical hubs facilitating TTP operations in metropolitan centers.
  • Assets & Tactics:
    • High-fidelity SIGINT/HUMINT mapping
    • High-Risk Transit Interceptions (notably the 2015 Muzaffargarh firefight resulting in the death of Malik Ishaq).
  • Technical Outcome:
    • Success:
      • Decapitated the most lethal sectarian network in Punjab
      • Severed the rural-urban militant transit pipeline.

 

Friction: Judicial Failure. The collapse of the civilian court system due to witness intimidation forced the state’s reliance on military courts and kinetic “encounters” for high-value targets.

Operation Khyber (Phases I, II, III, & IV)

Sealing the high-altitude sanctuaries of the Rajgal and Tirah Valleys.

  • Timeframe: October 2014 – August 2017
  • Theater: Khyber Agency (Rajgal Valley, Maidan Plateau).
  • Lead Command: XI Corps and specialized SSG units.
  • Strategic Objective: Neutralize the LeI-TTP alliance and seal mountain passes into Afghanistan at elevations exceeding 12,000 feet.
  • Assets & Tactics:
    • Indigenous Burraq drones for precision mountain-ridge strikes
    • High-altitude infantry combat
    • Permanent bunker construction.
  • Technical Outcome:
    • Success:
      • Captured the Maidan plateau (a decade-long no-go zone)
      • Pushed Mangal Bagh’s forces permanently into Afghanistan.

 

Friction: Maintaining operational integrity during winter months. This led to the transition from seasonal outposts to year-round reinforced concrete fortifications.

Operation Rah-e-Shahadat (Path to Martyrdom)

The institutionalization of IED-Defeat doctrine.

  • Timeframe: 2013 – 2014
  • Theater: Orakzai Agency and Tirah Valley.
  • Lead Command: XI Corps / SSG Lead Elements.
  • Strategic Objective: Clear the final central hub where TTP/AQ assets converged post-Swat.
  • Assets & Tactics:
    • Heli-borne insertions on the Maidan plateau
    • Intense PAF bombardment of cave complexes.
  • Technical Outcome:
    • Success: Effectively bottled up remaining TTP elements into North Waziristan, setting the stage for Zarb-e-Azb.

 

Friction: High casualty rates from IED-laden trails forced a massive institutional acquisition of mine-resistant vehicles and jamming technology.

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