ISLAMABAD – President Asif Ali Zardari on Tuesday awarded the Nishan-i-Imtiaz (Military) to General Aamer Raza, Commander of the National Strategic Command, at a ceremony held at Aiwan-i-Sadr in Islamabad.
President Zardari had approved the conferment of the prestigious military award on Gen Raza on July 31.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, other service chiefs, and senior government and military officials attended the investiture ceremony, according to state media.
Gen Raza was promoted to the rank of four-star general in July and appointed Commander of the National Strategic Command on the prime minister’s recommendation.
The position was established under the 27th Constitutional Amendment passed last year. The amendment introduced major changes to the military command structure and assigned the National Strategic Command the nuclear management responsibilities previously handled by the Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC), a position that was subsequently abolished.
Gen Raza has previously received the Hilal-i-Imtiaz (Military) and Sitara-i-Basalat (Star of Valour).
Before becoming a four-star general, he served as Chief of General Staff, one of the army’s key operational positions. In that role, he supervised organisational changes following the 27th Amendment and restructuring undertaken after last year’s conflict with India, including the creation of the Army Rocket Force Command.
A cavalry officer trained at the Officers Training School, Gen Raza was commissioned into the 6th Lancers in 1988. During his career, he commanded an armoured regiment, an armoured brigade, an infantry brigade in South Waziristan, an infantry division and Lahore-based IV Corps.
He also served as head of Heavy Industries Taxila, Director General of Weapons and Equipment and Chief of Staff at II Corps.
Despite his new strategic command role, Gen Raza has not previously served in the Strategic Plans Division, Army Strategic Forces Command or the country’s strategic missile programme. His career has primarily focused on conventional military operations and force development.
