Even before his retirement as the Pakistan Army chief on November 29, 2016, there were reports in the media that General (retd) Raheel Sharif is likely to be appointed as the first commander of the newly formed Islamic Military Alliance to Fight Terrorism (IMAFT).

Barely one and a half month after he doffed his uniform, there are reports that the retired general has been appointed to the post. Though a formal announcement of his appointment is still awaited, the Senate of Pakistan has already discussed it after its chairman Raza Rabbani of the opposition Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) took notice of the media reports and summoned Defence Minister Khwaja Mohammad Asif to explain the government’s stance on it. It quickly became a hot topic in the media, particularly in television talks shows. The issue generated controversy and in the process Raheel Sharif came under scrutiny just weeks after retiring in a blaze of glory due to his effective leadership as the Army chief in the war against terrorism.

As the initiator of the proposal to set up the Islamic military alliance, Saudi Arabia would be expected to formally announce General Raheel Sharif’s appointment as the commander of the force. It may be waiting for an opportune time to do so after consulting the governments of the countries that have joined IMAFT. In particular, it would like to further consult Pakistan if it hasn’t already done it as Islamabad’s consent, and in particular of Rawalpindi where the Pakistan Army’s General Headquarters (GHQ) is based, would be important for hiring the former Army chief as the commander of the force.

The Pakistan government too could make a formal announcement about Raheel Sharif’s appointment as the IMAFT commander as it involves someone who served as the Army chief for three eventful years and was quite popular for taking on the militants, ordering the Zarb-e-Azb operation in North Waziristan and the three military actions in Khyber Agency. Besides, it was under his command that Karachi was made peaceful and stabilised due to the Rangers’ tough action against terrorists and criminals often linked to political parties, primarily the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) that was once beyond reproach. The General also is credited for making efforts to stabilise Balochistan, protect the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), and push the government to implement the National Action Plan (NAP) for effectively tackling extremism and militancy.

Until now, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s government has reacted in a rather confused manner to the media reports about General (retd) Raheel Sharif’s new role soon after retirement. Defence Minister Khwaja Asif had to change his tack when summoned to the Senate and claim that the retired General had not obtained ‘no objection certificate’ (NOC) from the government for taking up his new Riyadh-based job. In his words, neither the Ministry of Defence nor the GHQ had received any request from the General to take up the job. This statement was different from an earlier one in which he hinted that the PML-N government had prior knowledge about Raheel Sharif’s new appointment.

A debate was triggered whether Raheel Sharif needed any ‘NOC’ before accepting any offer of job abroad. Retired military officers now increasingly working as analysts maintained that the former Army chief was well aware of rules and would certainly do the right thing while taking any such decision. In this case, the job on offer wasn’t something out of the ordinary. It was a very important military job with likely repercussions on Pakistan and its relations with certain countries, particularly neighbouring Iran. Besides, questions would be asked whether all this was agreed much earlier when Raheel Sharif was still the Army chief and was scripted accordingly.

There was never any doubt where Pakistan’s sympathies were. It was clearly close to Saudi Arabia and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had special relations with the Saudi royal family. However, political compulsions at home due to widespread opposition to Pakistan joining the Saudi-led military operations in Yemen stopped the government from making any such move. Pakistan though had no hesitation joining the Saudi-sponsored IMAFT. However, it continued to seek answers from the Saudis about the structure, role and activities of the proposed military alliance.

Many things about the IMAFT are unclear. One has to wait to find out the way it will operate and how many of the 39 countries that have agreed to join it would contribute soldiers and take part in a particular operation in some trouble-spot in the rare event of reaching agreement for a joint cause.

There is no doubt that the IMAFT has already attracted the majority of the total 57 Islamic countries in the world. It had 34 member countries initially and later the membership grew to 39. The resourceful Saudis could try and persuade some more to become members. However, the difficult part would be reaching a consensus on getting Iran and its allied countries to join IMAFT and still maintain its unity and focus on fighting terrorism.

The IMAFT has been called Islamic Nato even though there seems a world of difference between it and Nato. The IMAFT is still in an embryonic stage and would always have a limited role due to the general lack of unity among the Muslim countries and the fact that their destiny is often controlled by the US. In comparison, Nato has a well-defined global agenda primarily aimed at defending the Western countries and punishing anyone challenging its dominance. This Western military alliance stepped out of Europe following the 9/11 attacks on the US and intervened in faraway Afghanistan to protect its interests and set the stage for more such interventions elsewhere in the world in future.

The IMAFT has also been labelled as a Sunni military alliance because countries with Shiite majority such as Iran and Iraq and those ruled by the Shiites like Syria and Yemen aren’t its members. Obviously, these states weren’t invited to join it because Saudi Arabia being the architect of the IMAFT won’t like its major Middle Eastern rival Iran and its allies to become its members. In fact, the Saudis and their Gulf allies consider Iran and its allied groups such as the Houthis in Yemen and the Lebanon-based Hezbullah as a threat and would want to seek help to counter it.

One thing is sure though. If and when General (retd) Raheel Sharif formally takes over the job of the IMAFT commander, he should expect a line of applicants from among the retired Pakistan Army officers seeking some of the expectedly highly paid jobs under his command. There has never been any shortage of Pakistani military officers offering their services in the country or abroad.