Rear Admiral Mujeeb Ahmad Khan Lodhi (1922 – before October 2018), , best known as M.A.K. Lodhi, was a two-star rank admiral in the Pakistan Navy, a memoirist, and a defence analyst, writing in the ''News International''. He is known for his leadership in commanding the Western Naval Command and fleet commander during 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, and was forcefully retired from his service in 1972 by

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 ...

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Zulfikar (or Zulfiqar) Ali Bhutto ( ur, , sd, ذوالفقار علي ڀٽو; 5 January 1928 – 4 April 1979), also known as Quaid-e-Awam ("the People's Leader"), was a Pakistani barrister, politician and statesman who served as the fourt ...

. In 2017, he wrote and authored his memoirs, ''Ocean Rift: Memoirs of Admiral Lodhi'', published in 2017 that recounted his memories during the events in 1971.

Biography

Lodhi served in 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 ...

, participating well during the

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 ...

, he was one of few of the twenty RIN officers from the Executive Branch who opted for Pakistan Navy in 1947; he was the

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 ...

at the time of his transfer. He was a contemporary of Vice Admiral EC Kuruvila (1922–1997) with whom he served in World War II but were on opposite after the partition. Lodhi participated well during the second war with

in 1965, was one of the commanding officers of the Combined Task Group (CTG) that raided 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 ...

. Captain Lodhi was the commanding officer of the PNS Babur and had responsibility of guarding the station. Under Captain Lodhi's command, the PNS Babur took part in the firing the target at the light house's radars and return home safely to report to its base, and served until 1967 as ''Babur'''s CO. In 1969,

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 ...

Lodhi was stationed 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 ...

and was appointed as administrator for the

Chittagong Port The Chittagong Port ( bn, চট্টগ্রাম বন্দর) is the main seaport of Bangladesh. Located in Bangladesh's port city of Chittagong and on the banks of the Karnaphuli River, the port handles over 90 percent of Bangladesh' ...

, responsible for territorial limits. In 1970, he was promoted to two-star rank,

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 ...

, was subsequently appointed the fleet commander in the Western Naval Command as Commander Pakistan Fleet. During the third war with India, Rear-Admiral Lodhi commanded the Western Naval Command's Combined Task Group, comprising the one cruiser, five destroyers, two frigates, four submarines and one oiler. He also deployed his country's only long-range submarine, ''Ghazi'' that had to be deployed since he was not given any choice to support the Eastern Naval Command under Rear-Admiral

Mohammad Shariff Admiral Mohammad Shariff ( ur, ; 1 July 1920 – 27 April 2020), was a Pakistan Navy senior admiral, who served as the 2nd Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee and a memoirist who was at the center of all the major decisions made ...

. He also appointed

H.H. Ahmed as his command's chief of staff. After the signed surrender went into effect that marked the succession of East-Pakistan as

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

, Rear-Admiral Lodhi was among the highest flag ranking officer, including Rear-Admiral

Rashid Ahmed Rear-Admiral Rashid Ahmed (Urdu:رشيد احمد; b. 1918–2005), , was a two-star rank, two-star rank Two-star admiral, admiral in the Pakistan Navy, who is known for serving as Chief of Staff of the Pakistan Navy, Chief of Staff under Command ...

and 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 were notably superseded by their juniors for the command assignments. Rear-Admiral Lodhi was subsequently forcefully retired from his service when the junior,

H.H. Ahmed, became the nation's first chief of naval staff in April 1972. After his retirement, Rear-Admiral Lodhi deputed and worked with Royal Saudi Navy as its

military adviser Military advisors, or combat advisors, advise on military matters. Some are soldiers sent to foreign countries to aid such countries with their military training, organization, and other various military tasks. The Foreign powers or organizations ...

and remained associated with it for quite some time. Since 2015, he became associated with the News International where he writes column on defence and security. In 2017, Lodhi's memoirs, ''Ocean Rift: Memoirs of Admiral Lodhi'', were published. He died prior to October 2018.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lodhi, Mujeeb Ahmad Khan 1922 births Year of death missing Pakistani Muslims Pashtun military personnel Indian military personnel of World War II Royal Indian Navy officers Pakistan Navy officers Military personnel of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 Recipients of Sitara-e-Jurat Pakistan Navy admirals Pakistani military personnel of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 Admirals of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 Pakistani expatriates in Saudi Arabia People from Islamabad Defence and security analysts in Pakistan Pakistani columnists Pakistani memoirists Pashtun male writers