Muhammad Zakaullah (

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

: ; born 10 January 1958) is a retired

admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many 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. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...

in the Pakistan Navy, who was the 20th Chief of Naval Staff of the Pakistan Navy. He was succeeded by Admiral Zafar Mahmood Abbasi. He is noted for his sportsmanship, having represented Pakistan at the Olympics for a sailing class category and being a gold medallist at the 1990 Asian Games, for which he is a recipient of a national honor. As naval chief, Admiral Zakaullah is noted for revolutionizing the role of the navy, emphasizing the role of the navy in economic corridor with

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

and took initiatives to strengthened ties with the Turkish Navy. He also played an active role in establishing the

very low frequency Very low frequency or VLF is the ITU designation for radio frequencies (RF) in the range of 3–30 kHz, corresponding to wavelengths from 100 to 10 km, respectively. The band is also known as the myriameter band or myriameter wave ...

facility to provide communications with the submarines as well as ensuring the second-strike capability by commissioning the

cruise missile A cruise missile is an unmanned self-propelled guided missile that sustains flight through aerodynamic lift for most of its flight path. Cruise missiles are designed to deliver a large payload over long distances with high precision. Modern cru ...

system in the strategic command of the Navy.

Biography

Early life and career in Navy

Muhammad Zakaullah was born in Lyalpur (now

Faisalabad Faisalabad, formerly known as Lyallpur, is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, second-largest city and primary List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, industrial center of the Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan ...

) in Punjab,

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

on 10 January 1958 to a Jat family. After graduating from Cadet College Hasan Abdal, he joined the Pakistan Navy in 1975 where he was sent to join the Pakistan Naval Academy, graduating at the top of his class, he was conferred with the coveted Sword of Honour and awarded the chief of the naval staff gold medal at his graduation. Sub-Lieutenant Zakaullah gained

commission In-Commission or commissioning may refer to: Business and contracting * Commission (remuneration), a form of payment to an agent for services rendered ** Commission (art), the purchase or the creation of a piece of art most often on behalf of anot ...

in the Operations Branch, and was sent to

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

for his training and education later in his career. He did his military training from the Royal Naval Staff College, and later attended the

London University The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degr ...

where he gained MA in Defence studies. He also attended and graduated from the Quaid-e-Azam University, having attained an MSc in War Studies. Upon returning to Pakistan, he joined the faculty of National Defence University to teach war studies.

War and staff appointments

Zakaullah qualified as a surface officer from the

, serving first on the ''Babur'' which he later commanded as

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

. He also served as a

military attaché A military attaché or defence attaché (DA),Defence Attachés
''Geneva C ...

at the Pakistan Embassy, Doha in

Qatar Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country in West Asia. It occupies the Geography of Qatar, Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it shares Qatar–Saudi Arabia border, its sole land b ...

. Captain Zakaullah served as the Directing Staff at the Pakistan Naval War College before taken as secondment by the President Musharraf. From 1999 till 2003, Commodore Zakaullah served as the Director-General of the National Accountability Bureau, before taking over the command of the 25th Destroyer Squadron. His other command appointments included his role as Chief Inspector of Naval Police and military secretary to

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Shaukat Aziz for a short period of time.

Rear-Admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

Zakaullah also commanded the CTF–150 in

Arabian Sea The Arabian Sea () is a region of sea in the northern Indian Ocean, bounded on the west by the Arabian Peninsula, Gulf of Aden and Guardafui Channel, on the northwest by Gulf of Oman and Iran, on the north by Pakistan, on the east by India, and ...

to guard off operations on Somalian piracy. At the Naval Headquarters, he was appointed as ACNS (Plans), DCNS (Training and Personnel), and DCNS (Operation). Vice-Admiral Zakaullah's last war assignment included command of the Pakistan Fleet as its senior commander. At the height of border escalation with

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, he reportedly responded to the media that Pakistan had the ability to respond to any disturbance of border''.'' In an emergency address to the media representatives at the ISPR directorate, he quoted to the

media Media may refer to: Communication * Means of communication, tools and channels used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Interactive media, media that is inter ...

that "Pakistan forces are prepared for any critical situation." Answering the question of Indian Army's capabilities, Admiral Zakaullah said that Pakistan was not concerned by New Delhi's ground capability as it had the ability to defend itself against any aggression.

Chief of Naval Staff

In 2014, Vice-Admiral Zakuallah was promoted to four-star rank admiral. He became the first naval chief in the history of Pakistan who was a Sword of Honour recipient.

Sportsmanship

He is a keen yachtsman and has represented Pakistan at numerous international sailing events, including at the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and commonly known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the ...

and the 1986 and 1990

Asian Games The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years for athletes of Asia. The Games were regulated by Asian Games Federation from the 1951 Asian Games, first Games in New Delhi, India in 1951, until ...

. He won a gold medal each at the two editions of Asian Games. He is also a recipient of President's Award for Pride of Performance for outstanding performance in yachting.

Awards and decorations

Foreign Decorations

References

External links

CTF 150 Handover ceremonyNaval Chief Admiral Zakaullah conferred US Legion of Merit
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zakaullah, Muhammad 1958 births Living people People from Faisalabad Pakistan Naval Academy alumni Alumni of the University of London Quaid-i-Azam University alumni Academic staff of the National Defence University, Pakistan Academic staff of Pakistan Naval War College 20th-century Pakistani sportsmen Pakistani male sailors (sport) Olympic sailors for Pakistan Asian Games medalists in sailing Sailors at the 1984 Summer Olympics – 470 Sailors at the 1986 Asian Games Sailors at the 1990 Asian Games Medalists at the 1986 Asian Games Medalists at the 1990 Asian Games Asian Games gold medalists for Pakistan Cadet College Hasan Abdal alumni Pakistani military attachés Chairmen of the National Accountability Bureau Chiefs of Naval Staff (Pakistan) Recipients of Nishan-e-Imtiaz Recipients of Hilal-i-Imtiaz Recipients of Sitara-i-Imtiaz Recipients of Tamgha-e-Imtiaz