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, ...

Tariq Kamal Khan ( ur, ; b. 23 January 1933), , is a retired four-star rank

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, ...

and a former

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...

who served as a Chief of Naval Staff (CNS) of

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' ...

from being appointed in 1983 until retiring from his

service Service may refer to: Activities * Administrative service, a required part of the workload of university faculty * Civil service, the body of employees of a government * Community service, volunteer service for the benefit of a community or a pu ...

in 1986. Prior to that, he was appointed as the High Commissioner of Pakistan to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

and served from 1986 until 1992, when he retired from the foreign service.

Biography

Early life, education and naval career

Education: Presentation Convent Murree; St Anthony’s High School Lahore (Senior Cambridge 1948); Government College Lahore. Bsc 1954 Karachi University. Joined Pakistan Navy September 1951. Joined Royal Naval College Dartmouth UK May 1952 Trained in UK and was commissioned as sub lieutenant on 1 September 1954. Lieutenant 1 April 1957 Served as navigator PNS ''Badr'' and XO minesweeper PNS ''Mubarak''. Qualified Underwater Swimming School US June 1960. Qualified Underwater Demolition Team (USN SEALS) US October 1960. Qualified parachutist Fort Benning Georgia US November 1960. Attached with Special Service Group (Army) at Cherat April to November 1961. Qualified Torpedo & Anti-Submarine Specialist UK November 1962. TAS Officer PNS Alamgir December 62 to November 63. As lieutenant commander served as deputy director PN Tactical School end 1963 to early 1965. Executive officer PNS ''Jahangir'' 1965 throughout The Rann of Kutch and 1965 War. Staff officer operations NHQ 1966. Raised and commanded Special Service Group (Navy) 1967–1969. Commanded the Minesweeping Squadron and PNS ''Mubarak'' as COMINRON before assuming command of destroyer PNS ''Jahangir'' in East Pakistan on 18 March 1971. Brought the ship back to W Pakistan in July 1971 and was in command till immediately after the ceasefire of the 1971 War. Appointed Director Naval Operations NHQ end December 1971. Commanded cruiser PNS ''Babur'' April to September 1973. Assumed command of PN ''Destroyer'' ''Badr'' as COMDESRON in September 1973. Naval attache London August 1974 to December 1977. Director naval warfare and operational plans NHQ 1978. Joined Royal College of Defence Studies London January 1979 as commodore and graduated December 1979. March 1980 appointed Assistant Chief of Naval Staff (Operations) NHQ. Appointed Commander Pakistan Fleet early 1981. Promoted rear admiral early 1982 and appointed Commander Karachi. Promoted vice admiral 23 March 1983 and appointed Chief of The Naval Staff. Promoted admiral 23 March 1984. Retired 10 April 1986.

Naval career and star appointments

Tariq Kemal Khan was born in

Jhelum Jhelum ( Punjabi and ur, ) is a city on the east bank of the Jhelum River, which is located in the district of Jhelum in the north of Punjab province, Pakistan. It is the 44th largest city of Pakistan by population. Jhelum is known for p ...

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 ...

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 ...

into a Rajpoot family on 21 May 1930. After graduating from a local high school, he was commissioned as

Midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Canada (Naval Cadet), Australia, Bangladesh, Namibia, New Zealand, South Afr ...

in the

in 1948 in Surface warfare branch and was initially trained at the

Pakistan Military Academy Pakistan Military Academy ( ur, ), also referred to by its acronym PMA. PMA is an officers training school located near Kakul village in the city and district of Abbottabad, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa established in 1947. It is the sole service academy ...

. He was later trained in 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 continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

as a

communication Communication (from la, communicare, meaning "to share" or "to be in relation with") is usually defined as the transmission of information. The term may also refer to the message communicated through such transmissions or the field of inquir ...

specialist and as the

surface warfare Modern naval warfare is divided into four operational areas: surface warfare, air warfare, submarine warfare, and information warfare. Each area comprises specialized platforms and strategies used to exploit tactical advantages unique and inhe ...

officer and promoted as

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 ...

after returning to Pakistan. His further military training came from 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 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 did qualified on courses on

military communications Military communications or military signals involve all aspects of communications, or conveyance of information, by armed forces. Military communications span from pre-history to the present. The earliest military communications were delivered b ...

. In 1965,

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 ...

TK Khan participated in second 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 ...

and served on PNS ''Shah Jahan'' as its

executive officer An executive officer is a person who is principally responsible for leading all or part of an organization, although the exact nature of the role varies depending on the organization. In many militaries and police forces, an executive officer, o ...

while taking part on naval shelling 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 ...

. In 1969, he was promoted as

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 ...

and

commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

after posting in

East Pakistan East Pakistan was a Pakistani province established in 1955 by the One Unit Scheme, 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 ...

commanding officer The commanding officer (CO) or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitu ...

of . Cdr TK Khan also helped 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 ...

with the communication gears and firing at the

East Pakistan Rifles East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fac ...

headquarters to crush Bengali resistance in Chittagong area. Cdr Khan participated on various military riverine missions while commanding a

gunboat A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies. History Pre-steam ...

, ''Jahangir'', and was taken war prisoner after the accessioning the surrender with

in 1971. He was

repatriated Repatriation is the process of returning a thing or a person to its country of origin or citizenship. The term may refer to non-human entities, such as converting a foreign currency into the currency of one's own country, as well as to the pro ...

to Pakistan and continue resuming his military service when he was promoted 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. From 1975 to 1978, Captain Khan was posted in the

Foreign ministry In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The entit ...

to be served as

naval attaché A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It include ...

to the Pakistan High Commission in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. Upon returning to Pakistan, he was promoted to one-star rank,

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, a ...

and posted in Karachi for a command assignment in 1978. Cdre Khan commanded the 18th Destroyer Squadron as its

officer commanding The officer commanding (OC), also known as the officer in command or officer in charge (OiC), is the commander of a sub-unit or minor unit (smaller than battalion size), principally used in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth. In other countries, ...

until 1980 after promoting as

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 regarded ...

Chief of Naval Staff

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 regarded ...

Khan was appointed Commander Karachi (COMKAR) until 1983 when he succeeded Admiral K.R. Niazi as Chief of Naval Staff. On 22 March 1983,

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 ful ...

Zia-ul-Haq General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq HI, GCSJ, ร.ม.ภ, (Urdu: ; 12 August 1924 – 17 August 1988) was a Pakistani four-star general and politician who became the sixth President of Pakistan following a coup and declaration of martial law in ...

announced to appoint Rear-Admiral Khan as the Chief of Naval Staff but this promotion came with controversy. Rear-Admiral TK Khan, a junior admiral, supersedes the most senior Vice-Admiral

Iqbal Quadir Iqbal Z. Quadir ( bn, ইকবাল জেড. কাদীর) is an entrepreneur and promoter of the role of entrepreneurship and innovations in creating prosperity in low-income countries. He has taught at Harvard Kennedy School and at Mas ...

and two senior Rear-Admirals for the command of the Navy in 1983. Rear-Admiral TK Khan was known to be close to President Zia and had experience in military administration in civil affairs from the East Pakistan, that may have been a factor for his appointment to the four-star appointment. After his appointment was announced, Rear-Admiral Tariq Kemal Khan was appointed as four-star rank

in the Navy. In 1983, he helped negotiated the acquisition of

Mirage V The Dassault Mirage 5 is a French supersonic attack aircraft designed by Dassault Aviation during the 1960s and manufactured in France and a number of other countries. It was derived from Dassault's popular Mirage III fighter and spawned several ...

aircraft from

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

for the

Pakistan Air Force , "Be it deserts or seas; all lie under our wings" (traditional) , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = ...

when he traveled to

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, France. As naval chief, Admiral TK Khan began initiating a program to acquire and procure modern warships to replace and scrap the aging warships in service with the Navy. Admiral Tariq Kemal worked closely towards strengthening

bilateral relations Bilateralism is the conduct of political, economic, or cultural relations between two sovereign states. It is in contrast to unilateralism or multilateralism, which is activity by a single state or jointly by multiple states, respectively. When ...

between

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

and

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

, briefly meeting with Chinese President

Li Xiannian Li Xiannian (pronounced ; 23 June 1909 – 21 June 1992) was a Chinese Communist military and political leader, President of the People's Republic of China (''de jure'' head of state) from 1983 to 1988 under Paramount Leader Deng Xiaoping and ...

for that purpose in 1984. Admiral Tariq Kemal Khan remained naval chief until naval chief he sought retirement from his active service and handed over the command to his VCNS, Vice-Admiral

Iftikhar Ahmed Sirohey Admiral (Pakistan), Admiral Iftikhar Ahmed Sirohey ( ur, ; b. 1934) is a retired Four star rank, four-star rank Four star admiral, admiral, strategist, and a memoirist who is currently tenuring his fellowship at the The Institute of Strategic St ...

Decorations and awards

* 1965 Imtiazi Sanad (Mention in Dispatches) * 1969 TQA * 1982 HI(M) * 1983 NI(M) * 1985 Legion of Merit (Commander) USA

Diplomatic assignments

July 1986 to July 1990 Ambassador / High Commissioner Australia with concurrent accreditation to New Zealand & Fiji. Jan 1992 to Aug 1992 Ambassador Yugoslavia. May 1993 to May 1995 Ambassador Tunisia.

Awards and decorations

Foreign Decorations

References

External links

Official website of Pakistan Navy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Khan, Tariq Kemal Living people 1930 births Punjabi people Pashtun people People from Jhelum Pakistan Military Academy alumni Graduates of Britannia Royal Naval College Pakistani military personnel of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 Pakistani prisoners of war Pakistan Navy admirals 1983 controversies Military government of Pakistan (1977–1988) Chiefs of Naval Staff (Pakistan) People from Islamabad High Commissioners of Pakistan to Australia

Ambassadors of Pakistan to Tunisia An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...

Pakistani naval attachés