Admiral Muhammad Zakaullah (

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
'' ) is a retired

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: Allah is Sufficient for us - and what an excellent (reliable) Trustee (of affairs) is He!(''Qur'an, 3:173'') , type ...

, who was the 15th Chief of Naval Staff of the

. He was later replaced by Admiral Zafar Mahmood Abbasi. He is noted for his sportsmanship, having represented Pakistan at the

Olympics The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a vari ...

for a sailing class category, 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 Economic corridors are integrated networks of infrastructure within a geographical area designed to stimulate economic development. They connect different economic agents in particular geographic area. Corridors may be developed within a country ...

with

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

and took initiatives to strengthened ties with the

Turkish Navy The Turkish Naval Forces ( tr, ), or Turkish Navy ( tr, ) is the naval warfare service branch of the Turkish Armed Forces. The modern naval traditions and customs of the Turkish Navy can be traced back to 10 July 1920, when it was establis ...

. 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 a ...

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

cruise missile A cruise missile is a guided missile used against terrestrial or naval targets that remains in the atmosphere and flies the major portion of its flight path at approximately constant speed. Cruise missiles are designed to deliver a large warh ...

system in the

strategic command United States Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM) is one of the eleven unified combatant commands in the United States Department of Defense. Headquartered at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, USSTRATCOM is responsible for strategic nuclear dete ...

of the Navy.

Biography

Early life and career in Navy

Muhammad Zakaullah was born in Lyalpur (now

Faisalabad Faisalabad (; Punjabi/ ur, , ; ), formerly known as Lyallpur (Punjabi, Urdu: لائل پور), named after the founder of the city, but was renamed in 1977 in honour of late King Faisal of Saudi Arabia. It is the 3rd largest city of Pakis ...

) in

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi Language, Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also Romanization, romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the I ...

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 ...

on 10 January 1958 After graduating from the

Cadet College Hasan Abdal Cadet College, Hasan Abdal (CCH) Urdu/Pashto :کیدت کالج/کیڈٹ کالج حسن ابدال is a residential secondary school located in Hasan Abdal, Attock District, Punjab, Pakistan. The college has over 500 enrolled students aged 13 ...

, he joined the

in 1975 where he was sent to join the Pakistan Naval Academy, graduating at top of his class and conferred with coveted

Sword of Honour The ''Sword of Honour'' is a trilogy of novels by Evelyn Waugh which loosely parallel Waugh's experiences during the Second World War. Published by Chapman & Hall from 1952 to 1961, the novels are: ''Men at Arms'' (1952); ''Officers and Gent ...

and awarded the chief of the naval staff gold medal at his graduation.

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 hig ...

Zakaullah gained commissioned 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 Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

for his training and education later his career. He attended and 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 degre ...

where he gained MA in Defence studies. He also a attended and graduated from the

Quaid-e-Azam University Quaid-i-Azam University Islamabad ( ur, ; commonly referred to as QAU), founded as University of Islamabad, is a ranked 1 public research university in Islamabad, Pakistan. Founded as the University of Islamabad in 1967, it was initially dedi ...

, having attained the MSc in

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'' deriv ...

. Upon returning to Pakistan, he joined the faculty of and National Defence University to teach war studies.

War and staff appointments

Zakaullah qualified as a surface officer from the

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

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. ...

. He also served as a

military attaché A military attaché is a military expert who is attached to a diplomatic mission, often an embassy. This type of attaché post is normally filled by a high-ranking military officer, who retains a commission while serving with an embassy. Opport ...

at the Pakistan Embassy, Doha in

Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it sh ...

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 ...

Zakaullah served as the Directing Staff at the Pakistan Naval War College before taken as

secondment Secondment is the assignment of a member of one organisation to another organisation for a temporary period. Job rotation The employee typically retains their salary and other employment rights from their primary organization but they work close ...

by the

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 ...

Musharraf. From 1999 till 2003,

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 ...

Zakaullah tenured as the

Director-General A director general or director-general (plural: ''directors general'', ''directors-general'', ''director generals'' or ''director-generals'' ) or general director is a senior executive officer, often the chief executive officer, within a governmen ...

of the

National Accountability Bureau The National Accountability Bureau ( ur, ; abbreviated NAB) is an autonomous and constitutionally established federal institution responsible to build efforts against corruption and prepare critical national economic intelligence assessments ...

, before taking over the command of the 25th Destroyer Squadron. His other command appointments included his role as

Chief Inspector Chief inspector (Ch Insp) is a rank used in police forces which follow the British model. In countries outside Britain, it is sometimes referred to as chief inspector of police (CIP). Usage by country Australia The rank of chief inspector is us ...

of Naval Police and military secretary to

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier 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. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

Shaukat Aziz Shaukat Aziz ( ur, ; born 6 March 1949) is a Pakistani former banker and financier who served as 17th prime minister of Pakistan from 28 August 2004 to 15 November 2007, as well as the finance minister of Pakistan from 6 November 1999 to 15 ...

for a short brief of time.

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 ...

Zakaullah also commanded the CTF–150 in

Arabian Sea The Arabian Sea ( ar, اَلْبَحرْ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Bahr al-ˁArabī) is a region of the northern Indian Ocean bounded on the north by Pakistan, Iran and the Gulf of Oman, on the west by the Gulf of Aden, Guardafui Channe ...

to guard off operations on Somalian piracy. At the Navy NHQ, 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. On the height of border escalation with

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), 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 and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

, he reportedly responded to the incident to media that, ''Pakistan has ability to answer the 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 * Media (communication), tools used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Broadcast media, communications delivered over mass e ...

that "Pakistan forces are prepared for any critical situation." Answering the question of

Indian Army The Indian Army is the Land warfare, land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Arm ...

's further capabilities, Admiral Zakaullah said that Pakistan was not concerned due to 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.

Sportsmanship

He is a keen yachtsman and has represented Pakistan at numerous international events, including 1984

and

Asian Games The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from all over Asia. The Games were regulated by the Asian Games Federation (AGF) from the first Games in New Delhi, India, until t ...

of 1986 and 1990. He has won Gold medal at the Asian Games twice. 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 National Defence University, Pakistan faculty Pakistan Naval War College faculty Pakistani sportsmen Pakistani male sailors (sport) Olympic sailors of 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 Pakistan Navy admirals Cadet College Hasan Abdal alumni Pakistani military attachés Chairmen of the National Accountability Bureau