Vice Admiral Mohammad Haroon (

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...

in the

Pakistan Navy ur, ہمارے لیے اللّٰہ کافی ہے اور وہ بہترین کارساز ہے۔ English language, English: Allah is Sufficient for us - and what an excellent (reliable) Trustee (of affairs) is He!(''Quran, Qur'an, Al Imran, 3:173' ...

and a defence analyst, writing in the ''

Express Tribune ''The Express Tribune'' is a daily English-language newspaper based in Pakistan. It is the flagship publication of the '' Daily Express'' media group. It is Pakistan's only internationally affiliated newspaper in a partnership with the ''Intern ...

''. In 2005, Admiral Haroon was notably superseded by Vice-Admiral

Afzal Tahir Admiral (Pakistan), Admiral Muhammad Afzal Tahir ( ur, ; b. 4 January 1949) was a Pakistan Navy officer, writer, and the military historian currently serving in the faculty at the Pakistan Navy War College, Naval War College of Pakistan Navy ...

to the appointment of Chief of Naval Staff as a

four-star admiral Military star ranking is military terminology, used to describe general and flag officers. Within NATO's armed forces, the stars are equal to OF-6–10. Star ranking One–star A one–star rank is usually the lowest ranking general or flag ...

but continued his service until he reached his set retirement date.

Biography

Mohammad Haroon was born 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. ...

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 ...

, initially belonging a village, Alowal, located in District Toba Tek Singh, into a military family; his father served in the

Pakistan Army The Pakistan Army (, ) is the Army, land service branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The roots of its modern existence trace back to the British Indian Army that ceased to exist following the partition of India, Partition of British India, wh ...

, retiring as

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

. After his matriculation, he joined the

Sub-Lieutenant Sub-lieutenant is usually a junior officer rank, used in armies, navies and air forces. In most armies, sub-lieutenant is the lowest officer rank. However, in Brazil, it is the highest non-commissioned rank, and in Spain, it is the second high ...

in 1967, and went to attend the Britannia Naval College where he graduated as underwater specialist in 1970, gaining commission 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 sub ...

in the Navy. Lt. Haroon participated well in the

western front Western Front or West Front may refer to: Military frontiers *Western Front (World War I), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (World War II), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (Russian Empire), a majo ...

of the third war with

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 ...

in 1971, serving in the PNS Mangro. Before participating, Lt. Haroon did a brief duty in East Pakistan's coastal areas in 1969–70. After the war, his career in the Navy progressed well, eventually Cdr. Haroon commanding a submarine squadron. He was educated, and graduated in the

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'' derives ...

degree from the National Defence University 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 T ...

in the 1970s. He also went to 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 territorie ...

to attend, and graduated from the Naval War College in

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...

. Upon returning to Pakistan, he briefly served in the Navy NHQ as Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff (Plans). As

Captain 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 ...

in the Navy, he commanded a destroyer and three

Hangor-class submarine The ''Hangor''-class submarine is a class of air–independent attack submarines currently being built for the Pakistan Navy. The class is a modified derivative of the Chinese-origin Type 039B submarine, operated by the People's Liberation A ...

as his command assignments. In 1987-90s, Captain Haroon was selected by the

Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...

(MoD) for a diplomatic assignment, and briefly served as naval attaché at the High Commission of Pakistan in

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...

. In 1996, Cdre Haroon served in the Joint Staff HQ in

Rawalpindi Rawalpindi ( or ; Urdu, ) is a city in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is the fourth largest city in Pakistan after Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad, and third largest in Punjab after Lahore and Faisalabad. Rawalpindi is next to Pakistan's ...

as directing staff of war wing, and later served as director joint training. In 2000–01, Cdre Haroon was promoted to two-star rank, and Rear-Admiral Haroon took over as the commander of the Submarine Command (COMSUBS), actively participating in deploying the submarines during the military standoff with

in 2001. In 2002, Rear-Admiral Haroon was appointed as commander of Karachi (COMKAR), having received the German Navy warship in

Karachi coast The Port of Karachi ( ur, , ''Bandar gāh Karāchī'') is one of South Asia's largest and busiest deep-water seaports, handling about 60% of the nation's cargo (25 million tons per annum) located in Karachi, Pakistan. It is located on the Karac ...

which paid the farewell visit to Pakistan Navy. In 2003, Rear-Admiral Haroon was promoted to three-star assignment in the Navy. In 2004–05, Vice-Admiral Haroon was appointed as a senior fleet commander of Pakistan Navy's Fleet (COMPAK). On 7 November 2005, Vice-Admiral Haroon was appointed as Vice Chief of Naval Staff. In 2005, Vice-Admiral Haroon was notably superseded by Vice-Admiral

to the four-star rank appointment and as the

in the Navy. This promotion for Admiral

marked with controversy that Admiral Tahir had to clarify his working relationship with Vice-Admiral Haroon, stressing "no differences with Admiral Haroon and had family terms with him." Vice-Admiral Haroon served to complete his tenureship under Admiral Tahir, Chief of Naval Staff, and was eventually retired in 2007. After retiring from the Navy, Admiral Haroon was invited to be appointed as Rector of the

Bahria University Bahria University (BU; ur, ) is a public-sector university established in 2000 by the Pakistan Navy at Shangrilla Road, Sector E-8/1 in Islamabad, Pakistan. The university maintains campuses in Karachi and Lahore. Established by the Pakistan Na ...

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 cap ...

, and is a regular columnist for country's political correspondents on national security and defence analysis."Contact Us: Rector Bahria University." Bahria University. Bahria University, 04 Feb. 2009. Web. 22 Dec. 2011. .

Awards and decorations

Notes

External links

Dawn Newspapers
{{DEFAULTSORT:Haroon, Mohammad People from Toba Tek Singh District Living people Military personnel from Lahore Graduates of Britannia Royal Naval College Pakistan Navy submariners Pakistani military personnel of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 Pakistan Navy admirals Academic staff of Bahria University Recipients of Tamgha-e-Basalat Recipients of Hilal-i-Imtiaz Recipients of Sitara-i-Imtiaz Defence and security analysts in Pakistan Year of birth missing (living people) Pakistani naval attachés