Mohammad Shariff
Hilal-e-Jurat Chief of Naval Staff | |
---|---|
In office 23 March 1975 – 21 March 1979 | |
Preceded by | Vice-Admiral Hasan Hafeez Ahmed |
Succeeded by | Admiral Karamat Rahman Niazi |
Chairman of Federal Public Service Commission | |
In office 1980–1986 | |
Personal details | |
Born | 1 July 1920 |
Battles/wars |
|
Awards | |
Service number | S/No. PN. 138 |
Gaining commission in the
He resumed his active military service in the Navy after his
After retiring from the military in 1980, Shariff was appointed as chairman of Federal Public Service Commission while he continued his role as military adviser to President Zia-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 the military crackdown in East Pakistan.
Biography
World War II and RIN career
Mohammad Shariff was born in
He participated in the
In 1947, the United Kingdom announced the
He was the 20th most senior Lieutenant in the navy in terms of seniority list provided by the Royal Indian Navy to the
Upon returning to Pakistan in 1962, he was appointed as Deputy Chief of Naval Staff (Personnel) with a promoting rank of Captain at the NHQ.[11]
In 1965, Captain Shariff continued his staff appointment role as DCNS (Personnel) at the NHQ and participated in the second war with India in 1965.[9] He participated in planning of the naval assault against the Indian Navy and provided his analysis based on personnel preparation for the operation.[9]
In 1966, he was promoted as
In 1969, Commodore Shariff was promoted as
During the same time, President General
The initial military success (Searchlight and Barisal) 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, [17]
In 1970, the
The Searchlight resulted in quick success, but it had created a temporary momentum on Bengali rebels who started their insurgency from
As the war progressed, he insisted on deployment of the combat warships to mount a serious pressure on the Indian Navy's
Liberation war and surrender
The
About the deployment of
During the entire military conflict, insurgency was widely spread to entire provincial state, East Pakistan.
As Indian Armed Forces entered in East-Pakistan, Shariff planned an immediate evacuation operation.[9] He commanded and oversaw the maximum evacuation of Pakistan Naval assets from East Pakistan to Burma in a limited time.[9] 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.[9] As the East-Pakistan fell, all the naval routes were closed by Indian Navy, forcing Shariff to remain in East-Pakistan.[9]
On 16 December, Rear-Admiral Mohammad Shariff surrendered his
Later, he joined General Niazi where he was presented at the time when the
War prisoner and return
Upon surrendering of the Eastern Command, Rear-Admiral Shariff was taken as
Later, Admiral Nanda transferred him to Jabalpur, to Rear-Admiral Gautum Singh who had done communications operations and specialization under Admiral Shariff in HMS Mercury during World War II.[7]: 218 He also requested a copy of the Quran which he recited during his time of his imprisonment.[7]: 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, the
On 23 March 1975, Vice-Admiral Shariff's appointment as
Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff
On 22 January 1977, he was appointed acting
In 1977, Admiral Shariff supported the
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.
With Admiral Shariff appointed as Chairman joint chiefs, he invited Admiral
Soviet–Afghan War
On 25 December 1979, the Soviet Union officially 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 and Mukti Bahini.[27] After this meeting, Zia authorized this operation under General Akhtar, and it was later merged with Operation Cyclone, a programme funded by the United States and the CIA.[27]
At this meeting, President Zia had asked Admiral Shariff and his army chief of staff General
Later life and post-retirement
In 1980, Admiral Shariff's retirement was due and decided not to seek an extension as he was succeeded by General
Upon retirement, he was appointed as Chairman of the
Admiral Shariff was a recipient of
After his retirement, he lived a quiet life in Islamabad surrounded and supported by close friends and family, and served as President of Elaf Club of Pakistan, a political and military think tank based in Islamabad.[28]
On 23 September 2010, Admiral Shariff wrote and launched his first autobiography Admiral's Diary, in English.[6] The ceremony was held at the Bahria University Auditorium. Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Noman Bashir was chief guest on the occasion.[6] 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.[6]
Shariff died on 27 April 2020.[2]
Awards and decorations
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. 2. |
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 Decorations
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) |
References
- ^ a b c d e Anjum, Zāhid Ḥusain (1979). Ilmi Encyclopaedia of General Knowledge. Lahore: Ilmi Kitab Khana. Retrieved 3 January 2017.
- ^ a b "Former naval chief Muhammad Sharif passes away". The Express Tribune. 28 April 2020. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
- ^ ISBN 9789693511482. Retrieved 4 January 2017.
- ^ "پاک بحریہ کے سربراہ۔ : ایڈمرل محمد شریف". www.pakistanconnections.com.[dead link]
- ^ "'Admiral's Diary' launched in capital". The News International. 24 September 2010. Retrieved 3 January 2017.
- ^ a b c d Arshad, Muhammad. "Book titled "Admiral's Diary" launched". World Tribune Pakistan. Retrieved 21 December 2011.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-897829-11-0.
- ^ "Admiral's Diary' launched in capital". The News International. 24 September 2010.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Sharif, Admiral Mohammad (2010). Admiral's Diary: §battling through stormy sea life for decades. Islamabad, Pakistan: Army Press, 2010. p. 51.
- ^ Jane, Frederick Thomas; Prendergast, Maurice Brazil; Parkes, Oscar (1962). Jane's Fighting Ships. Jane's Publishing Company Limited. p. 117. Retrieved 4 January 2017.
- ^ Sirohey, Admiral Iftikhar Ahmed (1995). Truth Never Retires: An Autobiography of Admiral Iftikhar Ahmed Sirohey. Karachi: Jang Publishers. pp. 175–178. Retrieved 4 January 2017.
- ^ Hsinhua Selected News Items. Hsinhua Selected News Items. 1968. p. 55. Retrieved 4 January 2017.
- ^ Jane, Frederick Thomas (1969). Jane's Fighting Ships. S. Low, Marston & Company. p. 249. Retrieved 4 January 2017.
- ^ ISBN 9789698031190. Retrieved 4 January 2017.
- ^ Impact International. News & Media. 2000. Retrieved 4 January 2017.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Excerpt: How the East was lost: Excerpted with permission from". Dawn. Retrieved 21 December 2011.
- ISBN 9781631440397. Retrieved 5 January 2017.
- ISBN 9789694023519. Retrieved 5 January 2017.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link - ^ Brigadier-General Sher (February 2001). "Last Flight from East Pakistan: Anamazing escape of the complete Army Aviation Detachment personnel from East Pakistan in December 1971". Defence Journal. pp. 45–48. Archived from the originalon 15 April 2001. Retrieved 29 November 2010.
- ISBN 9781897829721. Retrieved 5 January 2017.
- ISBN 9780415565264. Retrieved 5 January 2017.
- ^ Pakistan Affairs. Information Division, Embassy of Pakistan. 1973. p. xxxi.
- ^ Service, United States Foreign Broadcast Information (1979). Daily Report: People's Republic of China. National Technical Information Service. p. 28. Retrieved 5 January 2017.
- ^ a b c d Institute for Defense Studies and Analyses (1980). Strategic analysis: The Naval dictatorship. University of California: Institute for Defense Studies and Analyses., 1980.
- ^ Mansuri, M.A. (17 August 2016). "In pictures: Gen Zia-ul-Haq's life and death". Dawn. Retrieved 5 January 2017.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Yousaf, PA, Brigadier General (retired) Mohammad (1991). Silent Soldier: The Man Behind the Afghan Jehad General Akhtar Abdur Rahman. Karachi, Sindh: Jang Publishers, 1991. pp. 106 pages.
- ^ "Active Members".