Urdu
Urdu (;"Urdu" '' ), , usually shortened to H.H. Ahmed, was a senior Pakistan Navy officer who served as the first Chief of Naval Staff (CNS) of Pakistan Navy from 1972 until his death from sickness in 1975.
Despite appointed to the four-star appointment, he was retained at the three-star rank and took over the command of the Navy from its Commander-in-Chief Vice-Admiral
Muzaffar Hassan
Vice Admiral Muzzafar Hassan ( ur, مظفر حسن; b. 1920–24 May 2012) , was a Pakistan Navy senior admiral who served as the last Commander-in-Chief of Pakistan Navy from 1969 until 1972, serving under first President Yahya Khan and then u ...
who was dismissed from the military service.
Biography
Hassan Hafeez Ahmad was born in
Multan
Multan (; ) is a city in Punjab, Pakistan, on the bank of the Chenab River. Multan is Pakistan's seventh largest city as per the 2017 census, and the major cultural, religious and economic centre of southern Punjab.
Multan is one of the old ...
,
Punjab
Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising a ...
,
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 1926. He was educated in a local school in Multan and was a contemporary of Mansoor Shah who would later join the
Pakistan Air Force
, "Be it deserts or seas; all lie under our wings" (traditional)
, colours =
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, march =
, mascot =
, anniversaries = ...
in 1947.
After his high school graduation in 1943, he joined the
Royal Indian Navy
The Royal Indian Navy (RIN) was the naval force of British India and the Dominion of India. Along with the Presidency armies, later the Indian Army, and from 1932 the Royal Indian Air Force, it was one of the Armed Forces of British India.
F ...
as a
petty officer
A petty officer (PO) is a non-commissioned officer in many navies and is given the NATO rank denotation OR-5 or OR-6. In many nations, they are typically equal to a sergeant in comparison to other military branches. Often they may be super ...
and participated in
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 ...
. In 1945, he joined 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 ...
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 graduated in 1947. Upon returning to
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 ...
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...
and specialized in technical naval courses from 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 ...
in 1947-49.
In 1964, he attended the
Joint Service Defence College
The Joint Service Defence College (JSDC) was a training academy for British military personnel from 1983 to 1997. It has since been amalgamated into the Joint Services Command and Staff College.
History
The college was established as the Combined ...
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 ...
, and subsequently graduated with a
joint staff
The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) is the body of the most senior uniformed leaders within the United States Department of Defense, that advises the president of the United States, the secretary of defense, the Homeland Security Council and the ...
undersecretary
Undersecretary (or under secretary) is a title for a person who works for and has a lower rank than a secretary (person in charge). It is used in the executive branch of government, with different meanings in different political systems, and is al ...
Washington D.C.
)
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as a military attaché which he remained until 1966. In 1970, he was appointed as the first commandant of the
Pakistan Naval Academy
The Pakistan Naval Academy (PNA), PNS Rahbar, Manora is a federal military academy located in Manora, Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan.
Established in Manora, Karachi, under Vice-Admiral Syed Mohammad Ahsan in 1970, it is the one of the technol ...
as a
Commodore
Commodore may refer to:
Ranks
* Commodore (rank), a naval rank
** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom
** Commodore (United States)
** Commodore (Canada)
** Commodore (Finland)
** Commodore (Germany) or ''Kommodore''
* Air commodore ...
and was appointed as Commander
Coast
The coast, also known as the coastline or seashore, is defined as the area where land meets the ocean, or as a line that forms the boundary between the land and the coastline. The Earth has around of coastline. Coasts are important zones in ...
in 1971 as a
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 ...
.
After participating in the
Indo-Pakistani war of 1971
The Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 was a military confrontation between India and Pakistan that occurred during the Bangladesh Liberation War in East Pakistan from 3 December 1971 until the
Pakistani capitulation in Dhaka on 16 Decem ...
he continued to serve as commander of the coastal defense command but demoted to
Commodore
Commodore may refer to:
Ranks
* Commodore (rank), a naval rank
** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom
** Commodore (United States)
** Commodore (Canada)
** Commodore (Finland)
** Commodore (Germany) or ''Kommodore''
* Air commodore ...
in the Navy. In 1972, he was elevated as the first Chief of Naval Staff after the dismissal of
Muzaffar Hassan
Vice Admiral Muzzafar Hassan ( ur, مظفر حسن; b. 1920–24 May 2012) , was a Pakistan Navy senior admiral who served as the last Commander-in-Chief of Pakistan Navy from 1969 until 1972, serving under first President Yahya Khan and then u ...
. He was the most junior officer and superseded five senior's including three Rear-Admirals and two Commodores.
As a naval chief, his task was to reconstruct and rebuild the navy into a formidable force. In a short spa of time, he transformed the Navy into three-dimensional force when he commissioned the
naval aviation
Naval aviation is the application of military air power by navies, whether from warships that embark aircraft, or land bases.
Naval aviation is typically projected to a position nearer the target by way of an aircraft carrier. Carrier-based ...
and commissioning the new Navy NHQ in Rawalpindi in the vicinity of Army GHQ in 1974.
On 8 March 1975, he died from sickness unexpectedly while serving as naval chief and commanding the navy, at the age of 49. He was the first of two chief's of staff who died in the office- the other being General Asif Nawaz.