Vice-Admiral Ahmad Tasnim ( ur, ; born 1935) is a retired three-star rank admiral in the Pakistan Navy who is notable for his command of the ''Hangor'', a submarine, that sank the INS Khukri on 8 December 1971 during the third war with India, off the Diu,

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. This was the first submarine kill since

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, and the only one until a

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's ''Conqueror'' sank an Argentine cruiser ''General Belgrano'' during the Falklands War fought in 1980s. In 1990s, he was appointed chairman of the

Karachi Port Trust The Karachi Port Trust (KPT) ( ur, ) is a Pakistani federal government agency under the administrative control of the Federal Maritime Secretary that oversees the operations of the Port of Karachi, one of South Asia's largest and busiest de ...

and the

Pakistan National Shipping Corporation The Pakistan National Shipping Corporation (PNSC) is a Pakistani national flag carrier and is one of Government of Pakistan's most profitable state-owned entities, most recently having recorded its highest ever profit of PKR 5.6 billion under the ...

while serving in the Navy until retiring from his service in 1994.

Biography

Early life and career in Navy

In an interview conducted by A.H. Amin, Ahmad Tasnim stated that he was born to a Punjabi

Arain Arain (also known as Raeen) are a large Punjabi agricultural tribe with strong political identity and organisation, found mainly in the Pakistani provinces of Punjab and Sindh with a small population in parts of Indian Punjab, Uttar Pradesh ...

family in Mianwal village,

Jalandhar district Jalandhar district is a district in Doaba region of the state of Punjab, India. District headquarters is Jalandhar city. Before the Partition of India, Jalandhar was also the headquarters of the Jalandhar Division, with constituent districts J ...

East Punjab East Punjab (known simply as Punjab from 1950) was a province and later a state of India from 1947 until 1966, consisting of the parts of the Punjab Province of British India that went to India following the partition of the province betwee ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

, in 1935. In the same interview, he stated that his ancestors "most likely came from

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

" and "took up agriculture as their livelihood" after settling in the "area". His father, Mohammad Yakob, was a civil servant with

Indian Civil Service The Indian Civil Service (ICS), officially known as the Imperial Civil Service, was the higher civil service of the British Empire in India during British rule in the period between 1858 and 1947. Its members ruled over more than 300 million p ...

of British government. In 1940, he moved with his father who was posted to

Jhang Jhang (Punjabi, ur, ), ) is the capital city of Jhang District, in the central portion of the province of Punjab, Pakistan. Situated on the east bank of the Chenab river, it is the 18th largest city of Pakistan by population. The historic ...

West Punjab West Punjab ( pnb, ; ur, ) was a province in the Dominion of Pakistan from 1947 to 1955. The province covered an area of 159,344 km2 (61523 sq mi), including much of the current Punjab province and the Islamabad Capital Territory, but exclu ...

and permanently moved to

Burewala Burewala (Punjabi and ur, ), is a city of Vehari District in Punjab, Pakistan. The city of Burewala is the headquarters of Burewala Tehsil, an administrative subdivision of the district.independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

on 14 August as result of the

partition Partition may refer to: Computing Hardware * Disk partitioning, the division of a hard disk drive * Memory partition, a subdivision of a computer's memory, usually for use by a single job Software * Partition (database), the division of a ...

. After matriculating from a Government Islamia High School Jhang, he was admitted at the Government College University in

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city ...

in 1950 but left his university studies after being selected for the military service exam in 1952. In 1954, he joined the Pakistan Navy, commissioned as Midshipman and was sent to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

to attend the

Britannia Royal Naval College Britannia Royal Naval College (BRNC), commonly known as Dartmouth, is the naval academy of the United Kingdom and the initial officer training establishment of the Royal Navy. It is located on a hill overlooking the port of Dartmouth, Devon, En ...

in Dartmouth, England. He shared his dormitory with army cadet Imranullah Khan who would also ascended into being a three-star army general. He graduated from the

in 1955, and was later sent to Australia for further sea training where he joined the

Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the principal naval force of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN) Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AM, RAN. CN is also jointly responsible to the Minister of ...

as an

exchange officer An exchange officer is a commissioned officer in a country's armed forces who is temporarily seconded either to a unit of the armed forces of another country or to another branch of the armed forces of their own country. The exchange officer will ...

, gaining commission as Sub-Lieutenant on 1 January 1957, and served aboard

HMAS Sydney Five ships of the Royal Australian Navy have been named HMAS ''Sydney'', after Sydney, the capital city of New South Wales. *, a Town-class light cruiser launched in 1912, decommissioned in 1928, and broken up for scrap *, a ''Leander''-clas ...

, an aircraft carrier. Briefly serving as an

, S/Lt. Tasnim was again set to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

where he attended the Royal Naval College in

Greenwich Greenwich ( , ,) is a town in south-east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is situated east-southeast of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich ...

, where he graduated in

War studies War studies, sometimes called polemology, is the multi-disciplinary study of war. It pertains to the military, diplomatic, philosophical, social, political, psychological or economic dimensions of human conflict. The word ''polemology'' deriv ...

with strong emphasis on nuclear war. Upon returning to Pakistan, he was promoted as

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

, and was posted as executive officer to which he served until 1961. During this time, he was posted in

East Pakistan East Pakistan was a Pakistani province established in 1955 by the One Unit Policy, renaming the province as such from East Bengal, which, in modern times, is split between India and Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India and Myanmar, wi ...

but return shortly after Lt. Tasnim was appointed as

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President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

Ayub Khan. In 1963, Lt. Tasnim personally excused himself from his assignment in order to join the newly established crew that was to be trained in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

in order to operate the submarine acquired from the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

. Alongside with then- Lt.Cdr K.R. Niazi, Lt. Tasnim arrived in the

New London New London may refer to: Places United States *New London, Alabama *New London, Connecticut *New London, Indiana *New London, Iowa *New London, Maryland *New London, Minnesota *New London, Missouri *New London, New Hampshire, a New England town ** ...

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...

where he was trained on the USS Angler for the submarine operations. In 1964, the crew of ''Ghazi'' returned to Pakistan and reported back to its base,

Karachi Naval Dockyard The Karachi Naval Dockyard, also refers as PN Dockyard, is a naval base located adjacent to the commercial Karachi Shipyard and the PNS Qasim. It is also the only submarine construction base for the Pakistan Navy. Footnotes {{reflist External ...

War appointments in Navy: 1965 and 1971 war

In 1965,

Lieutenant-Commander Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding rank i ...

Tasnim was the executive officer and Second-in-Command of the , and participated in second war with

in 1965. ''Ghazi'', under command of Cdr KR Niazi, escorted the combined task group under Cdre S.M. Anwar, the OTC, to successfully raid a radar facility in

Dwarka Dwarka () is a city and a municipality of Devbhumi Dwarka district in the state of Gujarat in Western India. It is located on the western shore of the Okhamandal Peninsula on the right bank of the Gomti river at the mouth of the Gulf of Kut ...

. ''Ghazi'' later patrolled the

Arabian sea The Arabian Sea ( ar, اَلْبَحرْ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Bahr al-ˁArabī) is a region of the northern Indian Ocean bounded on the north by Pakistan, Iran and the Gulf of Oman, on the west by the Gulf of Aden, Guardafui Channel ...

and reported back safely to its base once the

ceasefire A ceasefire (also known as a truce or armistice), also spelled cease fire (the antonym of 'open fire'), is a temporary stoppage of a war in which each side agrees with the other to suspend aggressive actions. Ceasefires may be between state act ...

was broken by the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

between

India and Pakistan India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. Lt. Cdr. Tasnim was honoured with Sitara-e-Jurat, along with the ''Ghazi'' in 1966. In 1967,

Tasnim assumed the

command Command may refer to: Computing * Command (computing), a statement in a computer language * COMMAND.COM, the default operating system shell and command-line interpreter for DOS * Command key, a modifier key on Apple Macintosh computer keyboards * ...

of ''Ghazi'' and became concerned for her

refit Refitting or refit of boats and marine vessels includes repairing, fixing, restoring, renewing, mending, and renovating an old vessel. Refitting has become one of the most important activities inside a shipyard. It offers a variety of services f ...

as time passed. After refitting of its computers, ''Ghazi'' under the command of Lt. Cdr. Tasnim embarked on the notable

circumnavigation Circumnavigation is the complete navigation around an entire island, continent, or astronomical body (e.g. a planet or moon). This article focuses on the circumnavigation of Earth. The first recorded circumnavigation of the Earth was the Mage ...

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

and

Southern Europe Southern Europe is the southern region of Europe. It is also known as Mediterranean Europe, as its geography is essentially marked by the Mediterranean Sea. Definitions of Southern Europe include some or all of these countries and regions: Alba ...

in order for its

mid-life update A mid-life update, particularly in the context of defence, is maintenance or renovation designed to extend the usefulness and capability of an item. See also * F-16 mid-life update A large number of variants of the General Dynamics F-16 Fighti ...

that were to be carried out in

Gölcük Naval Shipyard Gölcük Naval Shipyard ( tr, Gölcük Donanma Tersanesi) is a naval shipyard of the Turkish Navy within the Gölcük Naval Base on the east coast of the Sea of Marmara in Gölcük, Kocaeli. Established in 1926, the shipyard serves for the bu ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

due to the closure of the Suez Canal because of the

Six-Day War The Six-Day War (, ; ar, النكسة, , or ) or June War, also known as the 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab states (primarily Egypt, Syria, and Jordan) from 5 to 10 Ju ...

. After the refit trials, Lt. Cdr. Tasnim returned to

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former c ...

and traveled to

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to acquire the . There, he learned French language and took over of the command of the in 1969 as Commander. Cdr. Tasnim arrived with ''Hangor'' submarines in 1970, and reported to its base in Karachi on 1 December 1970. In August 1971, Cdr. Tasnim volunteered to go behind the enemy lines to pick up intelligence on

Indian Navy The Indian Navy is the maritime branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of Naval Staff, a four-star admiral, commands the navy. As a blue-water navy, it operates si ...

's movement, which was duly approved. In November 1971, again sailed under his command with full wartime load of

torpedoes A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, su ...

, moving towards

Bombay harbour Mumbai Harbour (also English language, English; Bombay Harbour or Front Bay, Marathi language, Marathi''Mumba'ī bandar''), is a natural deep-water harbour in the southern portion of the Ulhas River estuary. The narrower, northern part of the es ...

, identifying the Indian armada but did not attack due to not being authorized. In an attempt to warn, Cdr. Tasnim broke the radio silence and dispatched a message that was immediately identified, leading the Indian Navy dispatching two ASW warships, and INS ''Kirpan'' from 14th Squadron of the

Western Naval Command The Western Naval Command is one of the three command–level formations of the Indian Navy. It is headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra. As the senior–most of the three formations, the command is responsible for the all naval forces in the A ...

of the

. The Indian squadron under Captain M.N. Mullah identified ''Hangor'' on 2–3 December, and came forward to attack the submarine that was operating on the shallow waters. Cdr. Tasnim ordered the increase of depth of the submarine by 200 m and set their targets on approaching Indian Navy's ship that were now coming to attack the submarine. At about 20:00Hrs, Cdr. Tasnim had his torpedo crew led by then- Lt.

Fasih Bokhari Admiral Fasih Bokhari (; 8 March 1942 – 24 November 2020) was a Pakistani admiral who served as the Chief of Naval Staff from 1997 to 1999. He was a well-known pacifist and a prominent political figure as the Chief of Naval Staff from 1997 ...

calculate the enemy ship path and firing range, and order the crew to fire the torpedoes. The first

homing torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, su ...

did not target its ship which was aimed at ''Kirpan'', and immediately opted a quick solution, firing second

that hit the magazine of the ''Khukri''. The crew of ''Hangor'' heard a loud explosion and began recording the orders being passed by Captain M.N. Mullah; a third homing torpedo was also fired but ''Kirpan'' fled the scene. ''Khukri'' sank quickly before ''Hangor'' could make an attempt to save the survivors, losing 250 men in this action including Captain M.N. Mullah. For almost a week, Cdr. Tasnim had the ''Hangor'' submerged due to being aware of massive search and destroy mission to locate ''Hangor'', making his way to report back to its base with depleted hydrogen batteries. According to his personal admission in 2001, Tasnim maintained: "''An extensive air search combined with surface ships made our life miserable but with intelligent evasive action we managed to survive these attacks and arrived in Karachi safely after the ceasefire''."

Staff and Command appointments

Upon returning to Pakistan, Cdr. Tasnim was decorated with Sitara-e-Jurat for his actions of valour in 1972. In 1973, he was posted in Navy NHQ in

Islamabad Islamabad (; ur, , ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's ninth-most populous city, with a population of over 1.2 million people, and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital ...

, becoming director submarine operations and assuming the command of submarine command (COMSUBS) in 1974. In 1975–76, Cdr. Tasnim went to

to attend the

Naval War College The Naval War College (NWC or NAVWARCOL) is the staff college and "Home of Thought" for the United States Navy at Naval Station Newport in Newport, Rhode Island. The NWC educates and develops leaders, supports defining the future Navy and associ ...

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area and the seventh-least populous, with slightly fewer than 1.1 million residents as of 2020, but it ...

, returning with MSc. in war studies, and appointed "Directing Staff" at the

. In 1976, he was promoted to one-star assignment, and

Capt. Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

Tasnim was appointed as Director-General Naval Operations (DGNO) and then

Naval Secretary The Naval Secretary is the Royal Navy officer who advises the First Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Staff on naval officer appointing (and General Officers). Their counterpart in the British Army is the Military Secretary. The Royal Air Force equi ...

at Navy NHQ in

. In 1978, Cdre. was selected by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) for a diplomatic assignment, and briefly tenured as military attaché at the Embassy of Pakistan in

until 1981. Upon returning, Cdre. Tasnim was tactical officer commanding of the 25th Destroyer Squadron, later commandant of the

and posted as the ACNS (Training) until promoted to two-star rank. In 1984,

Rear-Admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...

Tasnim was directed to join the faculty of National Defence University (NDU) in

, teaching courses on military studies of which then- Brig.

Pervez Musharraf General Pervez Musharraf ( ur, , Parvez Muśharraf; born 11 August 1943) is a former Pakistani politician and four-star general of the Pakistan Army who became the tenth president of Pakistan after the successful military takeover of t ...

was also this student. He remained Chief Instructor (CI) at the NDU until 1987. In 1987–88, Rear-Admiral Tasnim was appointed as DCNS (Personnel) and later became a senior

fleet commander The Fleet Commander is a senior Royal Navy post, responsible for the operation, resourcing and training of the ships, submarines and aircraft, and personnel, of the Naval Service. The Vice-Admiral incumbent is required to provide ships, submarine ...

in 1989–91, with as three-star rank, Vice-Admiral. In 1991, Vice-Admiral Tasnim's name was announced to be appointed as Chairman of the National Shipping Corporation which he stayed until 1992. In 1992, Vice-Admiral Tasnim was moved as chairman of

(KPT), which he remained until his retirement from the Navy in 1994. In 1992, Vice-Admiral Tasnim was moved as chairman of

(KPT), which he remained until his retirement from the Navy in 1994.

Retirement and defence analyst

In 2001, Admiral Tasnim refuted the Indian Navy's claim of sinking the ''Ghazi'', maintaining on the ground that "the sub was lost due to operational accident and Indians have never claimed it as such." In 2016, Admiral Tasnim backed the ISPR's claim of detecting the Indian Navy's submarine patrol the Karachi coast, claiming that: the Indian submarine was detected 40 nautical miles off Pakistani coast." Talking to ''Dawn'', Tasnim was of the opinion that "''the submarine had come for intelligence gathering purposes. Intelligence gathering is a common practice, but the skill is not to get caught – like we did in our times''."

Portrayal

In December 2021, ARY Digital release a telefilm '' Hangor S-131'', based on real incidents from 1971 Indo-Pak war in which role of Tasnim was played by Zahid Ahmed.

Awards and Decorations

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tasnim, Ahmad 1935 births Living people People from Jalandhar district Punjabi people People from Jhang District Military personnel of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 Submarine commanders Pakistani people of Iranian descent Pakistani military personnel of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 Naval War College alumni National Defence University, Pakistan alumni Pakistan Navy admirals People from Islamabad Pakistani television personalities Pakistani columnists Defence and security analysts in Pakistan