| Chief of the Naval Staff | |
|---|---|
| رئیسِ عملۂ پاک بحریہ | |
 Flag of the Chief of the Naval Staff | |
_08-09-25.jpg) | |
| Ministry of Defence Navy Secretariat-III atMoD[1] | |
| Abbreviation | CNS |
| Member of | Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee National Security Council |
| Reports to | Prime Minister of Pakistan Minister of Defence |
| Seat | Naval Headquarters (NHQ) Islamabad,Pakistan |
| Nominator | Prime Minister of Pakistan |
| Appointer | President of Pakistan |
| Term length | 5 years renewable irrespective of age |
| Precursor | Commander-in-Chief of the Pakistan Navy |
| Formation | 3 March 1972; 53 years ago (1972-03-03) |
| First holder | Vice AdmiralHasan Hafeez Ahmed |
| Succession | On basis of seniority, subjected to the decision of the Prime Minister of Pakistan. |
| Unofficial names | Naval chief |
| Deputy | Vice Chief of the Naval Staff |
| Website | Official website |
TheChief of the Naval Staff[a] (reporting name:CNS) is a military appointment and astatutory office held by afour-star rankadmiral in thePakistan Navy, who is nominated and appointed by thePrime Minister of Pakistan and confirmed by thePresident of Pakistan.[2]
The Chief of Naval Staff is one of the senior-most appointments in thePakistan Armed Forces who is one of the senior members of theJoint Chiefs of Staff Committee in a separate capacity, providing senior consultation to theChairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee to act as a principalmilitary advisor to thePrime Minister of Pakistan and itsGovernment of Pakistan in the line of defending and safeguarding theexpedition, maritime and sealine borders of the nation.[3]: 86 [4]
The Chief of Naval Staff exercise its responsibility ofcommand and control of the operational, combatant, logistics, administration, and training commands within thePakistan Navy, in a clear contrast to theU.S. Navy'sChief of Naval Operations (CNO). Due to its responsibility and importance, the Chief of Naval Staff plays a critical role in assessing thecoastal defence and conductingreconnaissance to insure itsstrike capability against aggressive forces.[3]: 88 [5][6]
In principle, the appointment is constitutionally subjected for three years but extensions may be granted by the President upon recommendations and approvals from the Prime Minister. The Chief of Naval Staff is based on the Navy NHQ, and the current Chief of Naval Staff is AdmiralNaveed Ashraf, who took over the command as chief of naval staff on 7 October 2023.
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ThePakistan Navy was created from the partition of theRoyal Indian Navy after theIndia's partition on14/15 August of1947.[3]: 90 Direct appointments in the navy was in the responsibility of theBritish Admiralty who appointedRear AdmiralJames Wilfred Jefford as Pakistan Navy's firstFlag Officer Commanding (FOC).[7]: 47
The post was changed to Commander-in-Chief on 30 March 1950.[8] On 20 March 1972, it was renamedChief of Naval Staff (CNS) withVice-AdmiralHasan Hafeez Ahmed becoming the first chief, though his rank was not elevated to four-star rank.[9]: 60–62 [10]
The term of the superannuation was then constrained to three years in the office as opposed to four years and was made a permanent member ofJoint Chiefs of Staff Committee.[9]: 62 Since 1972, there have been 14 four-star rank admirals appointed as chiefs of naval staff by statute. The Prime Minister, with the President's confirmation, approved the nomination and appointment of the Chief of Naval Staff.[11]
The leadership of the navy is based in theNavy NHQ located in the vicinity ofAir AHQ, andArmy GHQ staff offices that form thatJS HQ in theRawalpindi District, Punjab, Pakistan.[4] The CNS controls the navy, assisted by the civilians from the Navy Secretariat-III of theMinistry of Defence (MoD).[1]
The Chief of Naval Staff exercises its responsibility of completing operational, training and logistics commands.[3]: 92–93 The CNS has several principal staff officers and controls the navy through seven principle staff commands directed by its appointed Deputy Chiefs of Naval Staff.[2]
The following is a list ofAdmirals who have served as either Flag Officer Commanding, Commander-in-Chief, and the Chief of the Naval Staff of thePakistan Navy.
| No. | Portrait | Flag Officer Commanding | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Defence branch |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Jefford, JamesRear Admiral James Wilfred Jefford CB CBE (1901–1980) | 15 August 1947 | 30 March 1953 | 2 years, 227 days |  Royal Navy |
On 30 March 1950, the position was re-designated as Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Pakistan Navy.[8]
| No. | Portrait | Commander-in-Chief | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Defence branch |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | | Jefford, JamesRear admiral James Wilfred Jefford CB CBE (1901–1980) | 30 March 1950 | 30 January 1953 | 2 years, 306 days | Royal Navy |
| 2 |  | Choudri, HajiVice admiral Haji Mohammad Siddiq ChoudriHPk, HI(M)MBE (1912–2004) | 31 January 1953 | 28 February 1959 | 6 years, 28 days |  Pakistan Navy |
| 3 | | Khan, AfzalVice admiral Afzal Rahman KhanHPk, HJ, HQA (1921–2005) | 1 March 1959 | 20 October 1966 | 7 years, 233 days | Pakistan Navy |
| 4 | | Ahsan, SyedVice admiral Syed Mohammad AhsanHQA, SPkDSC (1920–1989) | 20 October 1966 | 31 August 1969 | 2 years, 315 days | Pakistan Navy |
| 5 | | Hassan, MuzaffarVice admiral Muzaffar HassanHQA, SPk, (1920–2012) | 1 September 1969 | 22 December 1971 | 2 years, 112 days | Pakistan Navy |
| No. | Portrait | Chief of Naval Staff | Took office | Left office | Time in office |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | | Ahmed, HasanVice admiral Hasan Hafeez AhmedTQA (1926–1975) | 3 March 1972 | 8 March 1975 † | 3 years, 5 days |
| 2 | | Shariff, MohammadAdmiral Mohammad ShariffNI(M), HI(M), SI(M), HJ, SJ, SK (1920–2020) | 23 March 1975 | 21 March 1979 | 3 years, 363 days |
| 3 | | Niazi, KaramatAdmiral Karamat Rahman NiaziNI(M), HI(M), SJ (1930–2021) | 22 March 1979 | 23 March 1983 | 4 years, 1 day |
| 4 | | Khan, TariqAdmiral Tariq Kamal KhanNI(M), SI(M), SBt (1930–2008) | 23 March 1983 | 9 April 1986 | 3 years, 17 days |
| 5 | | Sirohey, IftikharAdmiral Iftikhar Ahmed SiroheyNI(M), HI(M), SI(M), SBt (1934–2025) | 9 April 1986 | 9 November 1988 | 2 years, 214 days |
| 6 | | Malik, Yastur-ul-HaqAdmiral Yastur-ul-Haq MalikNI(M), SBt (1931–2024) | 10 November 1988 | 8 November 1991 | 2 years, 363 days |
| 7 | | Khan, SaeedAdmiral Saeed Mohammad KhanNI(M), SBt (1935–2022) | 9 November 1991 | 9 November 1994 | 3 years |
| 8 | | Haq, MansurulAdmiral Mansurul HaqNI(M) (1937–2018) | 10 November 1994 | 1 May 1997 | 2 years, 173 days |
| 9 | | Bokhari, FasihAdmiral Fasih BokhariNI(M), HI(M), SI(M), SBt, SJ (1942–2020) | 2 May 1997 | 2 October 1999 | 2 years, 153 days |
| 10 | | Mirza, AbdulAdmiral Abdul Aziz MirzaNI(M), HI(M), SI(M), SBt (born 1943) | 2 October 1999 | 2 October 2002 | 3 years |
| 11 | | Karimullah, ShahidAdmiral Shahid KarimullahNI(M), HI(M), SI(M), TI(M), SJ (born 1948) | 3 October 2002 | 6 October 2005 | 3 years, 4 days |
| 12 |  | Tahir, AfzalAdmiral Afzal TahirNI(M), HI(M), SI(M) (born 1949) | 7 October 2005 | 7 October 2008 | 3 years |
| 13 |  | Bashir, NomanAdmiral Noman BashirNI(M), HI(M), SI(M), TI(M) | 7 October 2008 | 7 October 2011 | 3 years |
| 14 | | Sandila, AsifAdmiral Asif SandilaNI(M), HI(M) (born 1954) | 8 October 2011 | 3 October 2014 | 2 years, 360 days |
| 15 |  | Zakaullah, MuhammadAdmiral Muhammad ZakaullahNI(M), HI(M), SI(M), TI(M) (born 1958) | 4 October 2014 | 6 October 2017 | 3 years, 2 days |
| 16 |  | Abbasi, ZafarAdmiral Zafar Mahmood AbbasiHI(M), SI(M) | 7 October 2017 | 7 October 2020 | 3 years |
| 17 | %2c_S_Bt.jpg) | Niazi, AmjadAdmiral Amjad Khan NiaziHI(M), SI(M), SI(M) | 7 October 2020 | 7 October 2023 | 3 years |
| 18 | _Official.jpg) | Ashraf, NaveedAdmiral Naveed Ashraf | 7 October 2023 | Incumbent | 2 years, 49 days |
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