Mohammad Shariff

For other people of the same name, see Muhammed Sharif.

Mohammad Shariff
Birth name	Mohammad Shariff
Born	1920 (age 90–91)
Allegiance	Pakistan
Service/branch	Pakistan Navy
Years of service	1936 -1980
Rank	Admiral
Service number	(PN No. 138)
Unit	Naval Communications Branch (NCB)
Commands held	Chief of Naval Staff (CNS) Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff Eastern Military High Command Officer Commanding of PNS Dhaka Chief of Staff (COS) Western Naval Surface Fleet Eastern Naval Command Captain of PNS Tariq 25th Destroyer Squadron Pakistan Marines
Battles/wars	World War II Battle of the Atlantic Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 Operation Dwarka Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 Operation Searchlight Pakistan War in Bangladesh
Awards	Sitara-i-Jurat (1965) Hilal-i-Jurat (1971) Nishan-e-Imtiaz (1971)
Other work	Chairman of Federal Public Service Commission

Admiral Mohammad Shariff, (Born:1920), (HJ, NI(M), SJ), is a retired four-star naval officer and a career war veteran. Admiral Mohammad Shariff took over the command of Pakistan Navy on 21 March, 1979, when a three-star vice-admiral, Hasan Hafeez Ahmed, died in office. Admiral Shariff was the first four-star naval admiral who was appointed for the Chairmanship of Joints Chiefs of Staff Committee, hence, he became the principal and supreme commandant of the Pakistan Defence Forces. On September 23, 2010, Admiral Shariff launched his first autobiography Admiral's Diary, providing further accounts, causes, and failure of Pakistan Defence Forces's Operation Searchlight. Before becoming the four-star admiral and chief of naval staff, Shariff, as rear-admiral, was the principal commander (second-in-command) of East-Pakistan High Military Command (Eastern Naval Command), and commanded the Eastern Naval Command during the entire war theater.

Naval career

Shariff joined Royal Navy in 1936 at age of 16 as a sailor in the Communication Branch and witnessed battle actions on the high seas in the Atlantic during World War-II.^[1] After the Partition and Independence of State of Pakistan, Lieutenant Shariff opted the Pakistani citizenship, and joined the Pakistan Navy.^[2] In 1953, he was promoted to Lieutenant Commander in the navy, and in 1956, he was promoted to Commander where he was shifted as Staff officer at Karachi Naval Base (COMKAR). In 1961, Shariff was promoted to Captain, and commanded the PNS Tariq till 1964. In 1965, before the Indo-Pak War of 1965, Shariff was promoted to one-star rank, Commodore. Shariff, as one-star Commodore actively participated in Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, and was one of the key planner of Operation Somnath of 1965. While, he was presented at the meeting to commenced the mission and, was the first one to raise his voice for the operation. Commodore Shariff was put Second-in-Command of the Operation, while the Pakistan Navy's Flotilla was commanded by another one-star naval officer Commodore S.M. Anwar.

In 1969, he was promoted to two-star rank, and as Rear-Admiral, he was given the command of Eastern Naval Command of the Navy. A Naval Commanding officer of Pakistan Navy's Eastern Naval Command, Rear-Admiral Shariff commanded the Pakistan Naval operations in the East-Pakistan. In his autobiography, Shariff concluded, The initial military success in regaining the law and order situation in East Pakistan in March of 1971 was misunderstood as a complete success. In actuality, the law and order situation deteriorated with time, particularly after September of the same year when the population turned increasingly against the army as well as the government.^[3]

A commander of Eastern Naval Command, Rear-Admiral Shariff was the most senior commander, and second in command of Pakistan Defense Forces in East-Pakistan. As the war progressed, the pressure on Pakistan Navy was mounted and heightened by the Indian Navy. Shariff then launched the Marines and special naval operations near at the shore. A heavy deployment of Pakistan Marines and Special Service Group Navy (SSG(N)) were undertaken at Cox's Bazar and other strategic naval shore.^[4] Soon after the deployment of Marines and SSG(N), the bloody battle between Pakistan Navy and Indian Navy was insued, and the SSG(N) units and Marines had beaten assaults after assaults. Overall, the Pakistan Navy performed its mission task well and diligently by providing support to the army till the end. However, while Navy was successful by performing its task, Pakistan Army's Eastern Military Commands were unsuccessful to achieve their objectives. After the securing the East-Pakistan's strategic shores, Shariff gained prominence, and for his actions, he was made Second-in-Command of Pakistan Defence Forces in Eastern-Pakistan led by Lieutenant-General Amir Niazi. As second-in-command, Shariff was then placed in important positions where he was presented in every coordination meeting led by General Niazi.

After the success of East-Pakistan Air Operations of Indian Air Force (IAF), Army Aviation's 4th Army Aggressor Squadron, commanded Lieutenant-Colonel Liaqat Asrar Bukhari immediately held a meeting, which was attended by combined military officers of Pakistan Defence Forces. There, he was informed by Colonel Bukhari that the he had been permitted and ordered by Eastern Command to evacuate all the serviceable aircraft that night to Akyab in Burma, along with the maximum number of friendly East-Pakistani nationals.^[5] However, Eastern Air Command's commander Air Commodore (Brigadier-General) Inamul Haq objected the plan as he felt that on view of total air superiority enjoyed by the IAF that it would not be possible. As the conference was chaired by Lieutenant-General Amir Abdullah Khan Niazi, and in a meeting, Rear-Admiral Shariff strongly urged that Colonel Liaqat Bukhari should be allowed to give it a try, as several helicopters would be prevented from falling into enemy hands. General Niazi agreed with Rear-Admiral Shariff and ordered Colonel Liaqat to launch an evacuation operation immediately^[6]..

As Indian Military intervened in East Pakistan, the Eastern Air Command and Eastern Military Command were fell apart, forcing Lieutenant-General A. A. K. Niazi to surrender the Pakistan Eastern Command Forces to his counterpart Jagjit Singh Arora.

As Indian Armed Forces entered in East-Pakistan, Shariff planned an immediate evacuation operation. He commanded and oversaw the maximum evacuation of Pakistan Naval assets from East Pakistan to Burma in a limited time. However, the night Pakistan Military Command were surrendered, Shariff with small number of military officers were planned to leave as the Pakistan naval vessel, with holding of other officers and civilian, was waiting for their evacuation. As the East-Pakistan fell, all the naval routes were successfully closed by Indian Navy, forcing Shariff to remain in East-Pakistan. Later, he joined General Niazi where he was presented at the time when the Instrument of Surrender was signed.

After the surrender of East-Pakistan Forces, Shariff was taken as Prisoner of War (POW) and was taken to adjacent Camp No. 77A, where many of the senior military officials were held. He was released by Indian Government and handed over to Pakistan Government on March 1972. Following his return, he began his active service in the Navy, despite the fact other senior officers were subsequently retired or fired from their services. In 1972, He then testified in the absolute failure of Pakistan Eastern Military Command at the Hamoodur Rahman Commission, a stand-up civilian commission headed by then-Chief Justice of Supreme Court of Pakistan Justice Hamoodur Rahman.

As Chief of Naval Staff, Shariff also played an important role in the establishment of Pakistan Naval Air Arm in the Pakistan Navy, after the failure of Pakistan Naval Air defense. At first, with the help of PAF, Pakistan Navy raised its first squadron on March 1976.

Staff Appointments

After the death of Chief of Naval Staff Vice-Admiral Hasan Hafeez Ahmed, Prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto appointed him as Chief of Naval Staff. As vice-admiral, Shariff assumed the command of Pakistan Navy on 23 March 1975. In January 1976, Bhutto later upgraded his rank from three-star vice-admiral Shariff to four-star admiral, hence, made him the first full four-star admiral in the Navy.^[7]

He played an integral role in the establishment of Pakistan Naval Air Arm, and sought to improvised the navy as well. On 15 December 1977, Admiral Shariff established the Naval air station, PNS Mehran, where PAF's No. 25 Squadron Night Strike Eagles, an Aggressor squadron of PAF, Admiral M. Shariff presented the Squadron Colour to the No. 25 Squadron Night Strike Eagles.^[8] Admiral Mohammad Shariff commanded Pakistan Navy from 23 March 1975 t 21 March 1979, and was the first military officer belonging to the Navy Branch to become a Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (JCSC). In 1978, he was appointed by the Pakistan Military Promotion Regulatory Authority (PMPRA), in the absence of Prime minister and civil institutions.

After his four-star assignment, Admiral Shariff was the Supreme Commandant of the Pakistan Defense Forces from 1978 to 1980. He is a recipient of Hilal-i-Jurat, which was awarded to him after the 1971 war when he commanded all the naval assets in the erstwhile East Pakistan as a rear admiral during the Bangladesh Liberation War.

Post-Retirement

After his retirement from Pakistan Defence Forces, he was personally appointed Chairman of the Federal Public Service Commission, a civil administrative institution responsible for the recruitment of civil bureaucrats, by General Zia-ul-Haq. After his retirement, he lived a quiet life in Islamabad for more than a decade, and served as President of Elaf Club of Pakistan, a political and military think tank based in Islamabad.^[9] On September 23, 2010, Admiral Shariff wrote and launched his first autobiography "Admiral's Diary", in English. The ceremony was held at the Bahria University Auditorium. Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Noman Bashir was chief guest on the occasion. The book launching was attended by seasoned retired military officer and serving bureaucrats, senior retired and serving officers of the three services, family members and friends of the author, notable literary personalities, press and media.^[10]

References

1. ^ Arshad, Muhammad. "‘Admiral’s Diary’ launched" (Webcache). Muhammad Arshad. http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:-97UbGHMcO4J:pakobserver.net/detailnews.asp%3Fid%3D53867+Admiral+Mohammad+Shariff&cd=14&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us. 
2. ^ "Admiral’s Diary’ launched in capital" (Webcache). The News International. Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman, Jang Group of Newspapers. September 24, 2010. http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:kXWpf49SxUAJ:www.thenews.com.pk/24-09-2010/islamabad/6386.htm+Admiral+Mohammad+Shariff&cd=12&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us. Retrieved November of 2010. 
3. ^ Shariff, Admiral (Retired) Muhammad (Sunday, 24 October 2010). "Excerpt: How the East was lost" (Webcache). Admiral M. Shariff. Page No.415pp The Army Press, Islamabad. http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:kvN_v_ac5UUJ:news.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/in-paper-magazine/books-and-authors/how-the-east-was-lost+Admiral+Mohammad+Shariff&cd=19&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us. Retrieved 2010. 
4. ^ How East was lost.
5. ^ Khan, Brigadier-General Sher (February of 2001). "Last Flight from East Pakistan: Anamazing escape of the complete Army Aviation Detachment personnel from East Pakistan in December 1971.". Brigadier-General Sher Khan and Defence Journal. Defence Journal of Pakistan. http://www.defencejournal.com/2001/feb/last-flight.htm. Retrieved 2010. 
6. ^ Khan, Brigadier-General Sher (February of 2001). "Last Flight from East Pakistan: Anamazing escape of the complete Army Aviation Detachment personnel from East Pakistan in December 1971." (Google Docs). Brigadier-General Sher Khan and Defence Journal. Defence Journal of Pakistan. http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:HHLS72obvV8J:www.pakdef.info/pakmilitary/army/armyaviation/Last%2520Flight%2520from%2520East%2520Pakistan.pdf+Air+Commodore+Inamul+haq&hl=en&gl=us&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEEShh4pLqc8SAIwOf2s9xdNDnEY5sAPdCAtsJI50DUStrh008mgID5Rh73tJvZ1MqFmtfDsMT0kbYGGwB-NTQ5tpPKb9V_zDfZfn93Xb48F2I8FA8Gae1hkDDwazM5lme4XZltp5x&sig=AHIEtbT0SUg_-ztgIJPqZy38qOWZubxv5g. Retrieved 2010. 
7. ^ Arshad, Muhammad. ""Admiral's Diary’" launched". Muhammad Arshad. http://pakobserver.net/detailnews.asp?id=53867. 
8. ^ "No. 25 Squadron Night Strike Eagles, A brief history". PAF Falcon, an unofficial site of PAF.. http://www.paffalcons.com/squadrons/sqn25-1947-1982.php. 
9. ^ "Active Members". http://www.dosama.com/elafclub/active.htm. 
10. ^ "Book titiled"Admiral's Diary" launched". http://www.worldtribunepakistan.com/news_detail.php?page_id=22097. 

External links

• Official website of Pakistan Navy
• Admiral Mohammad Shariff 23 March 1975 21 March 1979
• [1]

Military offices
Preceded by Tikka Khan	Unified Commander of Eastern Military High Command 31 August 1971 – 14 December 1971	Succeeded by Amir Abdullah Khan Niazi
Preceded by Hasan Hafeez Ahmed	Chief of Naval Staff 1975 – 1979	Succeeded by Karamat Rahman Niazi
Preceded by Muhammad Shariff	Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee 1978 – 1980	Succeeded by Iqbal Khan

Persondata
Name	Shariff, Mohammad
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1920
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death