Mansurul Haq (16 October 1937 – 21 February 2018) was a senior officer of the

Pakistan Navy The Pakistan Navy (PN) (; ''romanized'': Pākistān Bahrí'a; ) is the naval warfare branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The Chief of the Naval Staff, a four-star admiral, commands the navy and is a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Com ...

who was forcibly retired from his service in 1997 on the allegations leveled against him in the corruption and kickbacks resulting during the

technology transfer Technology transfer (TT), also called transfer of technology (TOT), is the process of transferring (disseminating) technology from the person or organization that owns or holds it to another person or organization, in an attempt to transform invent ...

of submarines from

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. He was stripped of his rank, awards, and other perks and privileges. Driving a policy on anti-corruption by the

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 ...

Nawaz Sharif Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif (born 25 December 1949) is a Pakistani politician and businessman who served as the 12th Prime Minister of Pakistan, prime minister of Pakistan for three non-consecutive terms, first serving from 1990 to 1993, then ...

, the

Naval Intelligence Military intelligence is a military discipline that uses information collection and analysis approaches to provide guidance and direction to assist commanders in their decisions. This aim is achieved by providing an assessment of data from a ...

exposed his role that led to his resignation on 1 May 1997. His case attracted subsequent media attention in Pakistan after his voluntary return without any extradition case from the

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by the joint teams of FIA and NAB. He was held in Sihala Prison to face accountability."Former Pakistani navy chief arrested"
BBC News, 12 April 2001 However, Haq was later released after successfully negotiating a

plea bargain A plea bargain, also known as a plea agreement or plea deal, is a legal arrangement in criminal law where the defendant agrees to plead guilty or no contest to a charge in exchange for concessions from the prosecutor. These concessions can include a ...

. In 2013, he later filed a lawsuit against the

Government of Pakistan The Government of Pakistan () (abbreviated as GoP), constitutionally known as the Federal Government, commonly known as the Centre, is the national authority of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, a federal republic located in South Asia, con ...

at the

Sindh High Court The High Court of Sindh () ( Sindhi: سنڌ ھائي ڪورٽ) is the highest judicial institution of the Pakistani province of Sindh. Established in 1906, the Court situated in the provincial capital at Karachi. Apart from being the highest ...

, seeking to restore his rank and other privileges.

Biography

Mansurul Haq was born in

Sialkot Sialkot (Punjabi language, Punjabi, ) is a city located in Punjab, Pakistan. It is the capital of the Sialkot District and the List of most populous cities in Pakistan, 12th most populous city in Pakistan. The boundaries of Sialkot are joined ...

, Punjab, British India in 1937 into a Punjabi family. After his matriculation in Sialkot, he briefly attended the Murray College and was commissioned in the

in 1954 as

Midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest Military rank#Subordinate/student officer, rank in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Royal Cana ...

. In 1954, he was sent to the

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where he attended the

Britannia Royal Naval College Britannia Royal Naval College Dartmouth, also 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 in

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, graduated in

geography Geography (from Ancient Greek ; combining 'Earth' and 'write', literally 'Earth writing') is the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. Geography is an all-encompassing discipline that seeks an understanding o ...

course in 1956. In 1957, he did his further military training at in

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

where he specialized as gunnery specialist, returned to

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# ...

before being promoted as sub-lieutenant in the Navy in 1958. In 1964–65, Lt. Haq served in the second war with India and was posted in

East Pakistan East Pakistan was the eastern province of Pakistan between 1955 and 1971, restructured and renamed from the province of East Bengal and covering the territory of the modern country of Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India and Burma, wit ...

after the war. In 1969–71, Lieutenant-Commander Haq was posted in East Pakistan where he was the

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of the

, fighting a war against

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 ...

in December 1971. He was taken as war prisoner by

Indian Army The Indian Army (IA) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Land warfare, land-based branch and 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 ...

and was repatriated back to Pakistan following the trilateral agreement signed in 1974. His career progressed extremely well in the Navy and was sent to attend the

Naval War College The Naval War College (NWC or NAVWARCOL) is the staff college and "Home of Thought" for the United States Navy at Naval Station Newport in Newport, Rhode Island. The NWC educates and develops leaders, supports defining the future Navy and associa ...

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in the

where he graduated in management course. In 1983,

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

Haq was promoted to one-star assignment in the Navy NHQ, and Cdre Haq briefly tenured as the ACNS (Ops).Economic Review, Volume 24, Page 94 – Economic & Industrial Publications., 1993 In 1985–89, Cdre Haq served in the

Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

and later as Director of Joint Training at the JS HQ before being promoted to two-star assignment, and

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 ...

Haq was made a senior

fleet commander The Fleet Commander is a senior Royal Navy post, responsible for the operation, resourcing and training of the ships, submarines and aircraft, and personnel, of the Naval Service (United Kingdom), Naval Service. The Vice-Admiral incumbent is requ ...

as Commander Pakistan Fleet (COMPAK), and later as Commander Karachi (COMKAR) in 1991–92. Haq died from a cardiac arrest at his home in the United States, on 21 February 2018, at the age of 80.

Chief of Naval Staff

In 1992,

Haq was promoted to three-star assignment and was appointed as

secondment Secondment is the temporary assignment of a member of one organization to another organization. In some jurisdictions, .g., Indiasuch temporary transfer of employees is called "on deputation". Job rotation The employee typically retains their s ...

at the National Shipping Corporation (PNSC) by then- Chief of Naval Staff Admiral S.M. Khan. However, his chairmanship was caught between the privatization policy led by then-

and Admiral S.M. Khan, when a civilian bureaucrat filed a petition against his tenureship at the

Vice-Admiral Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral. Australia In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of vic ...

Haq fiercely opposed any attempts of privatization policy, causing a stress on the civil-military relations with the civilian federal government. In 1992, Vice-Admiral Haq announced to sell off the old metal scrap that would raise the revenue of

US$ The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...

50–60 million to buy new

cargo ship A cargo ship or freighter is a merchant ship that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's List of seas, seas and Ocean, oceans each year, handling the bulk of international trade. ...

s. In 1994,

Benazir Bhutto Benazir Bhutto (21 June 1953 – 27 December 2007) was a Pakistani politician who served as the 11th prime minister of Pakistan from 1988 to 1990, and again from 1993 to 1996. She was also the first woman elected to head a democratic governmen ...

publicly announced to promote

Haq as a four-star admiral in the Navy, appointing him as the Chief of Naval Staff. The promotion came with controversy since Vice-Admiral Mansur was due retirement a month before the change was due. Although, it was Admiral Saeed Mohammad Khan who had given a go-ahead of procuring the

of the Agosta 90B submarines in 1994 against his discretionary and wanting to directly procure the ''Victoria''-class submarines. Admiral Haq, nonetheless oversaw the financial deals closed in between the Benazir administration and the administrations of Mitterrand and Chirac in 1994–97. In 1995, Adm. Haq held additional talks with the

French Navy The French Navy (, , ), informally (, ), is the Navy, maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the four military service branches of History of France, France. It is among the largest and most powerful List of navies, naval forces i ...

over the strengthening of the cooperation between two nations.

Dismissal and extradition

In 1996–97, the

led by

Tanvir Ahmed began investigating the allegations and rumors at the Navy NHQ surrounding the role of Admiral S.M. Khan and Admiral Haq. The whole nation became completely aware of the scandal in 1998, when the scandal was exposed. In driving the anti-corruption policy by then-

, Admiral Haq's role was exposed by R-Adm Tanvir Ahmed, and was forced retired from his four-star commission in 1997. The Naval Police and officials of the

led by R-Adm. Tanvir Ahmed arrested Admiral Haq but no evidence came out to convict him in 1998. In 1998, Haq

emigrated Emigration is the act of leaving a resident country or place of residence with the intent to settle elsewhere (to permanently leave a country). Conversely, immigration describes the movement of people into one country from another (to permanentl ...

to the

and settled in

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where he bought a house. In 1999, the

National Accountability Bureau The National Accountability Bureau (; abbreviated NAB) is Pakistan's anti-corruption agency. Its chairman is Nazir Ahmed Butt, a retired general. History The Ehtesab Act, 1997 established an Ehtesab Cell, charged with the investigation and pr ...

(NAB) announced to open the investigations on Agosta scandal, with French Tracfin aiding the investigations, where major breakthrough in the investigation was made in 2000–01. In 2001, the anti-corruption courts issued the arrest warrants, and

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: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Pervez Musharraf Pervez Musharraf (11 August 1943 – 5 February 2023) was a Pakistani general and politician who served as the tenth president of Pakistan from 2001 to 2008. Prior to his career in politics, he was a four-star general and appointed as ...

negotiated with the

U.S. President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

George Bush for his extradition to Pakistan. The Texas Ranger detained him in Texas, and extradited him to Pakistan on 17 April 2001. While Haque had a right to fight for his extradition, he choose not to.

Lawsuits, imprisonment and release

In 2001, the Accountability Court inducted Haq in receiving commissions and kickbacks worth $3.369 million in defence deals. Civilian prosecution also leveled charges on him of being involved in financial deals made through selling the metal scrap through the National Shipping Corporation (PNSC), which caused the PNSC to lose $3 million in national exchequer. In 2004, the anti-corruption court sentenced him in rigorous seven-year rigorous imprisonment and fined ₨.2 million. Upon being convicted, the naval police shifted him in the Sihala Prison in

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

but soon began his negotiation with the

to return the money as

in exchange of light sentence and minimal jail time. In 2003–05, Haq returned a total sum of $7.5 million while in office, which were immediately shifted back to Navy's national account. The amount was said to be enough to pay the salaries of entire navy for two years. After transferring the amount back to Navy's account, Haq was released from the prison and all cases against him were closed as part of the deal, eventually settling in

Karachi Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...

. He paid additional

2.5 million which were deposited to Pakistan Navy's account in two easy installment payments, after which, he was released as the NAB agents vacated his house in Karachi. In 2013, Haq filed a lawsuit against the

, seeking to restore his medical privileges, pensions, and four-star rank, at the

. Chief Justice of

, Justice Faisal Arab (now serving as

Justice In its broadest sense, justice is the idea that individuals should be treated fairly. According to the ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy'', the most plausible candidate for a core definition comes from the ''Institutes (Justinian), Inst ...

in the

Supreme Court of Pakistan The Supreme Court of Pakistan (; ''Adālat-e-Uzma Pākistān'') is the apex court in the Judiciary of Pakistan, judicial hierarchy of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Established in accordance witPart VIIof the Constitution of Pakistan, it h ...

), heard his appeal as Haq cited his 43 years of military service in the Navy who fought the two wars where he was taken war prisoner by India in 1971. In 2013, the

agreed to restore his rank (as former) and limited medical pensions but not all benefits that are enjoyed by four-star officers in the

Pakistani military The Pakistan Armed Forces (; ) are the Military, military forces of Pakistan. It is the List of countries by number of military and paramilitary personnel, world's sixth-largest military measured by Active duty, active military personnel and c ...

Aftermath of Agosta submarine scandal

Later revelation and subsequent knowledge

After the nationwide

general elections A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. General elections ...

held in 2008, which saw the

Pakistan Peoples Party The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) is a political party in Pakistan and one of the three major List of political parties in Pakistan, Pakistani political parties alongside the Pakistan Muslim League (N) and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. With a Cent ...

(PPP) forming the

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and

Asif Zardari Asif Ali Zardari (born 26 July 1955) is a Pakistani politician serving as the 14th president of Pakistan since 2024, having held the same office from 2008 to 2013. He is the president of Pakistan People's Party Parliamentarians and was the c ...

elected as

, the knowledge on the Agosta submarines scandal became to emerge again, which brought several PPP politicians being involved in the scandal in public notice. Despite many investigative journalism reports and media airing the information gained on the Agosta submarines scandal, Haq remained silent and refused to appear on the

news media The news media or news industry are forms of mass media that focus on delivering news to the general public. These include News agency, news agencies, newspapers, news magazines, News broadcasting, news channels etc. History Some of the fir ...

. Role of Adm. SM Khan and others were also implicated, including the role of Aamir Lodhi, an arms dealer based in France who is also brother of Maleeha Lodhi former Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the

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, she served from February 2015 to September 2019 . Though, Adm. SM Khan denied his role in such deals as the latter wanted to purchase the ''Victoria''-class submarines in 1994. In 2010, Cdre Shahid Ashraf, the DG NI under Admiral Haq, revealed on the

Dawn News Dawn News HD is a Pakistani 24-hour Urdu news channel. Based in Karachi, the station is a subsidiary of Pakistan Herald Publications Limited (PHPL), Pakistan's largest English-language media group. The test transmission of the station occurr ...

that the submarine deal, for which Admiral Mansurul Haq pleaded guilty, was signed before he took charge as Chief of Naval Staff. Shahid Ashraf further claimed that Admiral Haq was not part of the selection team which recommended Agosta 90B for purchase from France. The selection was made during Admiral Saeed Mohammad Khan. The selection committee included various Admirals including those who subsequently held senior positions after Admiral Haq was removed from his position. However, Shahid Ashraf did not put forward any evidence that proved Haq's innocence. In June 2010, French investigators raided the house of Amir Lodhi, and handed over the important documents relating the defence deals to the NAB. The reports confiscated by the French investigators revealed to have found in regards involvement of former

Asif Ali Zardari Asif Ali Zardari (born 26 July 1955) is a Pakistani politician serving as the 14th president of Pakistan since 2024, having held the same office from 2008 to 2013. He is the president of Pakistan People's Party Parliamentarians and was the ...

who had have received

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists of a stylized letter E (or epsilon), crossed by t ...

33 million while Amir Lodhi's share was

2.9 million."Zardari 'pocketed millions' in French subs deal: report"
''Nation'', 15 January 2011 About the case study and trial of the Haq, former chief of naval staff, Adm. Abdul Aziz Mirza reportedly quoted in the

that "former Naval Chief Mansurul haq was not convicted of Agosta kickbacks but for the bribes he had pocketed in other defence deals."

Awards and decorations

Foreign Decorations

Notes

References

External links

* * * *

Media coverage

*Reporters aired by Dawn News
in a host of Arshad Sharif. {{DEFAULTSORT:Haq, Mansurul 1937 births 2018 deaths People from Sialkot Graduates of Britannia Royal Naval College Pakistani military personnel of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 Pakistani prisoners of war Naval War College alumni Pakistan Naval War College alumni Government of Benazir Bhutto staffers and personnel Pakistani chief executives Chiefs of Naval Staff (Pakistan) Pakistani expatriates in the United States Corruption in Pakistan Pakistani prisoners and detainees Prisoners and detainees of Pakistan Prisoners and detainees of the United States federal government Prisoners and detainees of Texas Pakistani expatriates in the United Arab Emirates Military personnel from Karachi Bangladesh Liberation War prisoners of war