Raheel Sharif dines with Trump's son-in-law, Saudi Prince at Islamic Summit

RIYADH: Pakistan’s former army chief General Raheel Sharif’s latest picture made rounds in the social media, showing him flanking alongside top dignitaries of the Saudi Arabia and the United States.

General Raheel Sharif, who is also head of Saudi-led Islamic military alliance, was at the US-Arab Islamic summit in Saudi Arabia where the heads of states including US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister of Pakistan expressed their views on terrorism and extremism.

In a photo going rounds on twitter, former general Raheel was seen sitting with US President’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and Saudi Crown Prince and Defence Minister Muhammad Bin Salman on his other side. The trio dined at the same table.

General Sharif was made chief of 39-nation Islamic military coalition formed to combat terrorism.

General (Retd) Raheel Sharif retired on November 29, 2016, and handed over the command of Pakistan army to Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa.

Formation of Islamic Military Alliance

Saudi Arabia on December 15, 2015 had announced the formation of Islamic military coalition to combat terrorism, a move welcomed by the United States which has been urging a greater regional involvement in the campaign against the militants who control swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria.

The Saudi statement described the military alliance’s objectives as: “a duty to protect the Islamic nation from the evils of all terrorist groups and organizations, whatever their sect and name, which wreak death and corruption on earth and aim to terrorize the innocent.”