Gen Syed Amir Raza conferred Nishan-e-Imtiaz (Military)

ISLAMABAD: National Strategic Command (NSC) Commander General Syed Amir Raza was conferred the Nishan-e-Imtiaz (Military) by President Asif Ali Zardari during a ceremony held at the Aiwan-e-Sadr on Tuesday.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir and the services chiefs attended the ceremony.

Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, Senate Chairman Yousaf Raza Gillani, federal ministers, senior government officials and ambassadors from several countries were also present.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had previously promoted Gen Raza, who was serving as Chief of the General Staff, from the rank of lieutenant general to four-star general and simultaneously appointed him as commander of the National Strategic Command.

The post of NSC Commander was established following the passage of the Pakistan Army, Air Force and Navy (Amendment) Bills 2025, which abolished the office of Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC).

Who is Gen Raza?

General Syed Amir Raza was commissioned into 6 Lancers, a distinguished armoured corps regiment, in 1988.

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He is a graduate of the Command and Staff College Quetta, National Defence University Islamabad and the University of Nottingham in the United Kingdom.

Throughout his career, Gen Raza has held several key command, staff and instructional appointments.

He served as brigade major of an infantry brigade, General Staff Officer Grade-2 at the Chief of General Staff Secretariat, chief of staff of a strike corps, director general of the Weapons and Equipment Directorate, chairman of Heavy Industries Taxila and chief of general staff at General Headquarters in Rawalpindi.

Gen Raza has commanded an armoured regiment, an armoured brigade, an infantry brigade in South Waziristan, an infantry division and a corps along the eastern border.

He has also served on the faculty of the School of Armour and Mechanised Warfare and the Command and Staff College Quetta as directing staff, senior instructor and chief instructor.