6-Jan-2017: Former Pakistan Army chief Raheel Sharif has been made the head of IMAFT

The Islamic Military Alliance to Fight Terrorism (IMAFT),  a 39-nation military coalition created by Saudi Arabia in December 2015 to combat the Islamic State and other groups, currently has 39 members, including Turkey and Malaysia. It is based at a command centre in Riyadh.

The Pakistan government and the army top brass had given their consent for the appointment as retired officers can take up such assignments within two years of stepping down only with the government’s assent.

Pakistan was at the centre of a controversy when Saudi Arabia named it as part of the military alliance without seeking Islamabad’s consent. The government later confirmed its participation in the alliance but has not committed itself to providing troops for any possible operations.

The coalition was envisaged to serve as a platform for security cooperation, including provision of training, equipment and troops, and involvement of religious scholars for dealing with extremism.

The Saudi government had surprised many countries by announcing that it had forged a coalition for coordinating and supporting military operations against terrorism in Iraq, Syria, Libya, Egypt and Afghanistan.

Iran, Saudi Arabia’s arch-rival for influence in the Arab world, was absent from the states named as participants, as proxy conflicts between the two regional powers rage from Syria to Yemen.

The coalition includes countries like Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Tunisia, Sudan, Malaysia, Egypt, Yemen among others.