Mohammad Shariff | |
|---|---|
محمد شريف | |
 Admiral Shariff (left) meeting his UScounterpart AdmiralWilliam J. Crowe. | |
| 2ndChairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee | |
| In office 23 January 1977 – 13 April 1980 | |
| Preceded by | GeneralMuhammad Shariff |
| Succeeded by | GeneralIqbal Khan |
| Chief of Naval Staff | |
| In office 23 March 1975 – 21 March 1979 | |
| Preceded by | Vice-AdmiralHasan Hafeez Ahmed |
| Succeeded by | AdmiralKaramat Rahman Niazi |
| Chairman ofFederal Public Service Commission | |
| In office 1980–1986 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1 July 1920 |
| Died | 27 April 2020(2020-04-27) (aged 99) Islamabad, Pakistan |
| Resting place | Islamabad, Pakistan |
| Citizenship | British Subject(1920–1947) Pakistan(1947–2020) |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  British India Pakistan |
| Branch/service |  Royal Indian Navy(1936–1947) Pakistan Navy(1947–1980) |
| Years of service | 1936–1980 |
| Rank |  Admiral |
| Unit | Executive Branch |
| Commands | Vice Chief of Naval Staff DCNS (Operations) DCNS (Personnel) Eastern Naval Command,East Pakistan |
| Battles/wars | |
| Awards |  Nishan-e-Imtiaz (Military) Hilal-e-Jurat Hilal-e-Imtiaz (Military) Legion of Merit |
| Service number | S/No. PN. 138 |
Mohammad ShariffNI(M)HJHI(M)LoM (Urdu:محمد شريف ; 1 July 1920 – 27 April 2020[2]), was a Pakistani senior admiral who served as the 2ndChairman ofJoint Chiefs of Staff Committee and a memoirist who was at the center of all themajor decisions made in Pakistan in the events involving thewar with India in 1971, the enforcement ofmartial law in the country in 1977, and the decision incovertly intervening againstSoviet Union in Afghanistan.
Gaining commission in theRoyal Indian Navy, he participated inWorld War II on behalf of Great Britain before joining the Pakistan Navy in 1947 as one of the senior staff officers. In 1969, he was appointed theFlag Officer Commanding of the Eastern Naval Command inEast Pakistan during thecivil war there, followed by the foreign intervention by India in 1971. After the war, he was taken as awar prisoner along withLieutenant-GeneralA.A.K Niazi, the commander of Pakistan Army'sEastern Command after conceding thesurrender of the Pakistan Armed Forces personnel to theIndian Army.
He resumed his active military service in the Navy after hisrepatriation from India and was appointed theChief of Naval Staff in 1975 after the sudden death of Vice-AdmiralHasan Ahmed. He had the distinction of being the firstfour-star admiral in the navy and was the first admiral to be appointed asChairman joint chiefs committee in 1978 until 1980. As the Chairman Joint Chiefs Committee, he continued to advocate for an aggressiveforeign policy and a strongnuclear deterrent against foreign intervention.[3]: 331–334
After retiring from the military in 1980, Shariff was appointed as chairman ofFederal Public Service Commission while he continued his role as military adviser to PresidentZia-ul-Haq until 1988 when he retired from public service. After living a quiet life in Islamabad, he announced the publishing of his memoirs,Admiral's Diary, providing further accounts, causes, and failure of themilitary crackdown in East Pakistan.
Mohammad Shariff was born inGujrat,Punjab,British India in 1920.[1] As many of his contemporaries, he was educated at theRashtriya Indian Military College and joined theRoyal Indian Navy (RIN) in 1936 as a sailor in the Communications Branch.[4][5] One of his close colleagues at this time was Gautum Singh, whom he would fight against in 1971.[6]: 218–219
He participated in theWorld War II as asignalist in the Royal Indian Navy on behalf of Great Britain and took part in military action in theAtlantic,Mediterranean,Red sea, andBay of Bengal.[1] In 1945, he went to the United Kingdom to attend theBritannia Royal Naval College inDartmouth, England where he graduated with a staff course degree.[citation needed]
In 1947, the United Kingdom announced thepartition of India. After thecreation of Pakistan on 14 August 1947, Lieutenant Shariff decided toopt for Pakistan and joined the newly establishedPakistan Navy.
He was the 20th most senior lieutenant in the navy in terms of seniority list provided by the Royal Indian Navy to theMinistry of Defense (MoD) in 1947.[7] In the 1950s, he served on various assignments in thePakistan military and served as a senior staff officer at theNavy NHQ from 1953 to 1956 asLieutenant-Commander.[8] In 1960, he was promoted asCommander in the Navy and went to the United States where he attended theNaval War College inNewport, Rhode Island, and graduated with a master's degree inWar studies in 1962.[9]
Upon returning to Pakistan in 1962, he was appointed asDeputy Chief of Naval Staff (Personnel) with a promoting rank ofCaptain at the NHQ.[10]
In 1965, Captain Shariff continued his staff appointment role as DCNS (Personnel) at the NHQ and participated in thesecond war with India in 1965.[8] He participated in planning of thenaval assault against theIndian Navy and provided his analysis based on personnel preparation for the operation.[8]
In 1966, he was promoted asCommodore and posted as DCNS (Operations) by theCommander in Chief AdmiralSyed Mohammad Ahsan where he continued his role until 1969.[11] In 1968, Commodore Shariff paid a goodwill visit to China alongside and held defence talks with the senior leadership ofPeople's Liberation Army.[12]
In 1969, Commodore Shariff was promoted asRear-Admiral, atwo-star rank, and posted inEast Pakistan asFlag Officer Commanding (FOC) at the Eastern Naval Command HQ.[13] His naval command was coordinated with the army'sEastern Command.[8][14]: 438 [15]
During the same time, President GeneralYahya Khan appointed AdmiralSyed Mohammad Ahsan as theGovernor of East Pakistan and Lt. Gen.Yaqub Khan as the commander of the army'sEastern Command, and the activities, momentum, and magnitude of the Pakistan Navy in East Pakistan increased at a maximum level, and more military and naval exercises began to take place in East Pakistan that initially focused on gathering intelligence on Indian infiltration in East.[8] East Pakistan, under the martial law administration of Admiral Ahsan, saw the period of stability and the civil control and law and order situation was effectively under control.[8] In 2010, Admiral Shariff authored his memories and concluded:
The initial military success (Searchlight andBarisal) in regaining the law and order situation in East-Pakistan in March 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 [Pakistan] armed forces as well as the [Yahya's military] government. The rapid increase in the number of troops though bloated the overall strength, however, [it] did not add to our fighting strength to the extent that was required. A sizeable proportion of the new additions were too old, inexperienced or unwilling....
— Admiral Mohammad Shariff,Commander of Eastern Naval Command,[16]
In 1970, theElection Commission held thegeneral elections in the country that resulted inAwami League securing thesupermajority in the East whilePakistan Peoples Party claiming the mandate in Pakistan. When the agitations in East Pakistan began to gain momentum, President Yahya held meeting with Governor Vice-Admiral Syed Mohammad Ahsan and army's Eastern Command's commander Lieutenant-General Yaqub Khan over theirmission outcomes where both objected the brute force against theBengali rebels. Despite opposition, President Yahya Khan authorized theOperation Searchlight and accepted the resignations from Governor Admiral Ahsan and General Yaqub, only to be appointed Lieutenant-GeneralTikka Khan as their capacity.[17][16]
TheSearchlight resulted in quick success, but it had created a temporary momentum on Bengali rebels who started their insurgency fromBarisal, ariverine city which the Army had failed to infiltrated.[16] Therefore, Rear-Admiral Shariff's command was put in test when he authorized the launch ofBarisal which resulted in immediate success, but it had no long-lasting effects.[16]
As the war progressed, he insisted on deployment of the combat warships to mount a serious pressure on the Indian Navy'sEastern Naval Command but naval HQ did not grant his wishes in fear of losing the warships into the hands of the enemy.[18] He personally led many operations undertaken after the deployment of theMarines andSSG(N) against theEastern Command of theIndian Army despite logistical disadvantages.[16] Overall, the Pakistan Navy performed its mission task well and diligently by providing support to the army until the end.[16] However, while the Navy was successful by performing its task, Pakistan Army's Eastern Military Commands were unsuccessful to achieve their objectives.[16] In the East, he earned his reputation as an effective commander within the military circles whose efforts had partially made the strategic shores of East Pakistan safe from the Indian Navy.[16]
TheIndian Air Force'saerial campaign resulted in takingSq. LdrPQ Mehdi aswar prisoner and dismantling the onlyNo. 14 Squadron active in the East.[19] Admiral Shariff authorizedLieutenant-Colonel Liaquat Asrar Bukhari to evacuate theAviation Corps and take refuge to neighbouringBurma.[14]: 422–425 [19] WhenAir Commodore Inamul Haq, commander of Eastern Air Command, argued against the evacuation, Shariff strongly lobbied for the evacuation by convincingLieutenant-GeneralNiazi that Colonel Liaqat Bukhari should be allowed to give it a try, as several helicopters would be prevented from falling into enemy hands.[19] General Niazi agreed with Rear-Admiral Shariff and ordered Colonel Liaqat to launch an evacuation operation immediately.[19] Over several nights, the army aviators, large number of PAF pilots and personnel successfully left forAkyab in Burma.[19]
About the deployment ofUS Taskforce 74 in support to the Pakistani military, Admiral Shariff had notified General Niazi that "if theAmerican Fleet had been coming to help them [Eastern Command], it would have established contacts with his HQ."[20]
During the entire military conflict, insurgency was widely spread to entire provincial state, East Pakistan.[16] The Indian Military had intervened in East-Pakistan, the Eastern Air Command and Eastern Military Command forced Lieutenant-GeneralA. A. K. Niazi to surrender the Pakistan Eastern Command Forces to his counterpartJagjit Singh Arora. In spite of Eastern Naval Command paying a heavy price, Admiral Shariff continued to keep the morale of Pakistan Navy personnel on high who were later pushed back to the wall by Mukti Bahni and the animosity of public that pounded the Pakistan Naval assets.
As Indian Armed Forces entered in East-Pakistan, Shariff planned an immediate evacuation operation.[8] He commanded and oversaw the maximum evacuation of Pakistan Naval assets from East Pakistan to Burma in a limited time.[8] However, the night Pakistan Eastern Military High Command were surrendered, Shariff with a small number of military officers planned to leave as the Pakistan naval vessel was waiting for their evacuation.[8] As the East-Pakistan fell, all the naval routes were closed by Indian Navy, forcing Shariff to remain in East-Pakistan.[8]
On 16 December, Rear-Admiral Mohammad Shariff surrendered hisTT pistol to Vice-AdmiralNilakanta Krishnan, the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Naval Command at 4:31pm (16:31hrs).[6] His TT Pistol is still placed in "covered glass" display at theIndian Military Academy's Museum.[6]
Later, he joined General Niazi where he was presented at the time when theInstrument of Surrender was signed. Shariff was the only Admiral at that particular event, with thirty brigadiers, and four Major-Generals, and thousands of soldiers and personnel witnessed the event and instrument that Niazi signed.[6]
Upon surrendering of the Eastern Command, Rear-Admiral Shariff was taken asprisoner of war (POW) and was taken adjacent Camp No. 77A, where many of the senior military officials were held, including Lieutenant-General Niazi, in 1971.[6]: 218 In 1972, he was later shifted toFort William inCalcutta where theU.S. Navynaval chief AdmiralElmo Zumwalt paid him a visit, followed by a visit of Indiannaval chief AdmiralS. M. Nanda.[6]: 218
Later, Admiral Nanda transferred him toJabalpur, to Rear-Admiral Gautum Singh who had done communications operations and specialization under Admiral Shariff inHMS Mercury during World War II.[6]: 218 He also requested a copy of theQuran which he recited during his time of his imprisonment.[6]: 218
[At the end of the conflict] ... We [Eastern Naval Command] had no intelligence and hence, were both deaf and blind with the Indian Navy and Indian Air Force pounding us day and night ...
In March 1973, theIndian government handed over Rear-Admiral Shariff toPakistan government at theWagha border.[6]: 219 He was allowed to resume his military service and testified in theWar Enquiry Commission, where he noted that: "the foundation for the defeat in East Pakistan could be traced back to themilitary coup d'état in 1958 where senior officers became greedy self-serving politicians rather than soldiers."[21] In 1974, he was promoted asVice-Admiral and appointed asVice-Chief of Naval Staff under Vice-AdmiralH.H. Ahmed despite the latter being junior to Vice-Admiral Shariff.[22]
On 23 March 1975, Vice-Admiral Shariff's appointment asChief of Naval Staff was approved by Prime MinisterZulfikar Ali Bhutto after Vice-Admiral H. H. Ahmed died of heart complications on 8 March 1975. At the time of his appointment, he was the most senior admiral and superseded no one.[3]: 237–327 In 1976, Vice-Admiral Shariff was promoted tofour-star rank admiral by PresidentFazal Ilahi Chaudhry— the first four-star appointment in the history of the Navy since its establishment in 1947.[1]
On 22 January 1977, he was appointed actingChairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee in the absence of GeneralMuhammad Shariff and led the delegation to meet withVice ChairmanLi Xiannian when he paid a state visit to Pakistan.[23]
Admiral Shariff was named deputyCMLA in the Military Council that is viewed to assist PresidentFazal Ilahi.[24]
In 1977, he was appointed acting Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee in the absence of General Muhammad Shariff who later resigned amid disagreement of the decision of the martial law on 22 January 1977.[3]: 331 In 1978, his appointment to the chairman joint chiefs was officially confirmed by President Ilahi after the involuntary resignation of GeneralMuhammad Sharif.[3]: 331 He was the second chairman joint chiefs and the first admiral to have been appointed chairman joint chiefs.[3]: 331
On 25 December 1979, theSoviet Unionofficially intervened in Afghanistan and President Zia called for a national security meeting that was attended by the Chairman joint chiefs, chiefs of staff of army, navy, and air force. At this meeting, he made no intentions against Soviet involvement in East Pakistan's crises after witnessing the Soviet support to India andMukti Bahini.[25] After this meeting, Zia authorized this operation under General Akhtar, and it was later merged withOperation Cyclone, a programme funded by the United States and theCIA.[25]
At this meeting, President Zia had asked Admiral Shariff and his army chief of staff GeneralKhalid Mahmud Arif to lead a geo-strategic civil-military team to formulate a geostrategy to counter Soviet aggression.[25] He played a crucial role in President Zia's policy onnuclear weapons and was a strong proponent for the implementation of thenuclear deterrent with a view to prevention of foreign intervention.[citation needed]
In 1980, Admiral Shariff's retirement was due and decided not to seek an extension as he was succeeded by GeneralIqbal Khan.[3]: 285 He was given a guard of honour, and a monument under his name was built inNavy NHQ and theJoint Staff HQ.[25]
Upon retirement, he was appointed as Chairman of theFederal Public Service Commission and continued his role as military adviser to President Zia-ul-Haq.[25] However, he was given criticism for leading the appointment of those civil bureaucrats who were loyal to his government and his chairmanship, while those who were not were subsequently moved.[25] He continued his role as military adviser and the chairmanship until thedeath of President Zia-ul-Haq in 1988 and took retirement from public service and his role as the military adviser to theGovernment of Pakistan.[25]
Admiral Shariff was a recipient ofHilal-i-Jurat, which was awarded to him after the1971 war and theNishan-e-Imtiaz by Bhutto after coming back from India.[25]
After his retirement, he lived a quiet life inIslamabad surrounded and supported by close friends and family, and served as President ofElaf Club of Pakistan, a political and military think tank based in Islamabad.[26]
On 23 September 2010, Admiral Shariff wrote and launched his first autobiographyAdmiral's Diary, in English.[5] The ceremony was held at theBahria University Auditorium. Chief of Naval Staff AdmiralNoman Bashir was chief guest on the occasion.[5] The book launching was attended by seasoned retired military officers 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.[5]
Shariff died on 27 April 2020.[2]
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| Nishan-e-Imtiaz (Order of Excellence) | Hilal-e-Jurat (Crescent of Courage) | Hilal-e-Imtiaz (Crescent of Excellence) | Tamgha-e-Diffa (General Service Medal) 1.1965 War Clasp 2.1971 War Clasp |
| Sitara-e-Harb 1965 War (War Star 1965) | Sitara-e-Harb 1971 War (War Star 1971) | Tamgha-e-Jang 1965 War (War Medal 1965) | Tamgha-e-Jang 1971 War (War Medal 1971) |
| Pakistan Tamgha 1947 | Tamgha-e-Sad Saala Jashan-e- (100th Birth Anniversary of 1976 | Tamgha-e-Jamhuria (Republic Commemoration Medal) 1956 | Hijri Tamgha (Hijri Medal) 1979 |
| 1939-1945 Star | Atlantic Star | Africa Star | Burma Star |
| War Medal | India Service Medal | Queen Elizabeth II (1953) | The Legion of Merit (US) |
| Foreign Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
 UK | 1939-1945 Star | |
| Atlantic Star | | |
| Africa Star | | |
| Burma Star | | |
| War Medal 1939-1945 | | |
| India Service Medal 1939–1945 | | |
| Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal | | |
 USA | The Legion of Merit (Degree of Commander) | |
| Military offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Chief of Naval Staff 1975–1979 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chairman of theJoint Chiefs of Staff Committee 1978–1980 | Succeeded by |
 | ||
Chiefs of Naval Staff of thePakistan Navy | ||
|---|---|---|
| Commander-in-Chief (Two-to-three-star admirals) |  | |
| Chiefs of Naval Staff (Four-star admiral) | ||
| Vice Chiefs of Naval Staff | ||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
