Mohammad Haroon (

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 ...

: ) is a retired three-star rank

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 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 ...

and a defence analyst, writing in the ''

Express Tribune ''The Express Tribune'' is a daily English-language newspaper based in Pakistan. It is the flagship publication of the '' Lakson Group'' media group. It is Pakistan's only internationally affiliated newspaper in a partnership with the '' Intern ...

''. In 2005, Admiral Haroon was notably superseded by Vice-Admiral Afzal Tahir to the appointment of Chief of Naval Staff as a

four-star admiral Military star ranking is military terminology, used in mainly English speaking countries, to describe General officer, general and flag officers. Within Member states of NATO, NATO's armed forces, the stars are equal to Ranks and insignia of NATO, ...

but continued his service until he reached his set retirement date.

Biography

Mohammad Haroon was born in

Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...

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 ...

, initially belonging a village, Alowal, located in District Toba Tek Singh, into a military family; his father served in the

Pakistan Army The Pakistan Army (, ), commonly known as the Pak Army (), is the Land warfare, land service branch and the largest component of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The president of Pakistan is the Commander-in-chief, supreme commander of the army. The ...

, retiring as

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

. After his matriculation, he joined the

in Sub-Lieutenant in 1967, and went to attend the

Britannia 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 ...

where he graduated as

underwater An underwater environment is a environment of, and immersed in, liquid water in a natural or artificial feature (called a Water, body of water), such as an ocean, sea, lake, pond, reservoir, river, canal, or aquifer. Some characteristics of the ...

specialist in 1970, gaining

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 ...

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

in the Navy. Lt. Haroon participated well in the western front of the third war 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 ...

in 1971, serving in the

PNS Mangro PNS may refer to: Medicine * Peripheral nervous system * Parasympathetic nervous system, rarely used, usually abbreviated as "PSNS" to avoid confusion with peripheral nervous system * Peripheral nerve stimulation of the occipital nerves * Paran ...

. Before participating, Lt. Haroon did a brief duty in East Pakistan's coastal areas in 1969–70. After the war, his career in the Navy progressed well, eventually Cdr. Haroon commanding a submarine squadron. He was educated, and graduated in the

war studies War studies, sometimes called polemology, is the multi-disciplinary study of war. It pertains to the military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfa ...

degree from the National Defence University in

Islamabad Islamabad (; , ; ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's tenth-most populous city with a population of over 1.1 million and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital Territory. Bu ...

in the 1970s. He also went to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

to attend, and graduated from 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 ...

Rhode Island Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...

. Upon returning to Pakistan, he briefly served in the Navy NHQ as Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff (Plans). As

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 ...

in the Navy, he commanded a destroyer and three

Hangor-class submarine The ''Hangor''-class submarines are a class of Diesel–electric transmission, diesel–electric attack submarines currently being manufactured by a joint-partnership of the China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (CSIC) and the Karachi Shipyar ...

as his command assignments. In 1987-90s, Captain Haroon was selected by 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 ...

(MoD) for a diplomatic assignment, and briefly served as

naval attaché A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, 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 ...

at the High Commission of Pakistan in

New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...

. In 1996, Cdre Haroon served in the Joint Staff HQ in

Rawalpindi Rawalpindi is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, third-largest city in the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is a commercial and industrial hub, being the list of cities in P ...

as directing staff of war wing, and later served as director joint training. In 2000–01, Cdre Haroon was promoted to two-star rank, and Rear-Admiral Haroon took over as the commander of the Submarine Command (COMSUBS), actively participating in deploying the submarines during the military standoff with

in 2001. In 2002, Rear-Admiral Haroon was appointed as commander of Karachi (COMKAR), having received the

German Navy The German Navy (, ) is part of the unified (Federal Defense), the German Armed Forces. The German Navy was originally known as the ''Bundesmarine'' (Federal Navy) from 1956 to 1995, when ''Deutsche Marine'' (German Navy) became the official ...

warship in

Karachi coast The Port of Karachi (, ''Bandar gāh Karāchī'') is one of South Asia's largest and busiest deep-water seaports, handling about 60% of the nation's cargo (25 million tons per annum) located in Karachi, Pakistan. It is located on the Karachi H ...

which paid the farewell visit to Pakistan Navy. In 2003, Rear-Admiral Haroon was promoted to three-star assignment in the Navy. In 2004–05,

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 ...

Haroon was appointed as 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 ...

of Pakistan Navy's Fleet (COMPAK). On 7 November 2005, Vice-Admiral Haroon was appointed as Vice Chief of Naval Staff. In 2005, Vice-Admiral Haroon was notably superseded by Vice-Admiral Afzal Tahir to the four-star rank appointment and as the

in the Navy. This promotion for Admiral Afzal Tahir marked with controversy that Admiral Tahir had to clarify his working relationship with Vice-Admiral Haroon, stressing "no differences with Admiral Haroon and had family terms with him." Vice-Admiral Haroon served to complete his tenureship under Admiral Tahir, Chief of Naval Staff, and was eventually retired in 2007. After retiring from the Navy, Admiral Haroon was invited to be appointed as

Rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

of the

Bahria University Bahria University (BU; ) is a public-sector university established in 2000 by the Pakistan Navy at Shangrilla Road, Sector E-8/1 in Islamabad, Pakistan. The university maintains campuses in Karachi, Islamabad and Lahore. Established by the Pakist ...

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 ...

, and is a regular columnist for country's political correspondents on national security and defence analysis."Contact Us: Rector Bahria University." Bahria University. Bahria University, 04 Feb. 2009. Web. 22 Dec. 2011. .

Awards and decorations

Notes

External links

Dawn Newspapers
{{DEFAULTSORT:Haroon, Mohammad People from Toba Tek Singh District Living people Military personnel from Lahore Graduates of Britannia Royal Naval College Pakistan Navy submariners Pakistani military personnel of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 Pakistan Navy vice admirals Academic staff of Bahria University Recipients of Tamgha-e-Basalat Recipients of Hilal-i-Imtiaz Recipients of Sitara-i-Imtiaz Defence and security analysts in Pakistan Year of birth missing (living people) Naval attachés for Pakistan