Mohammad Shariff ( ; 1 July 1920 – 27 April 2020), was a Pakistani senior admiral who served as the 2nd

Chairman The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...

of Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee and a memoirist who was at the center of all the major decisions made in Pakistan in the events involving the war with India in 1971, the enforcement of

martial law Martial law is the replacement of civilian government by military rule and the suspension of civilian legal processes for military powers. Martial law can continue for a specified amount of time, or indefinitely, and standard civil liberties ...

in the country in 1977, and the decision in covertly intervening against Soviet Union in Afghanistan. Gaining commission in the

Royal Indian Navy The Royal Indian Navy (RIN) was the naval force of British Raj, British India and the Dominion of India. Along with the Presidency armies, later the British Indian Army, Indian Army, and from 1932 the Royal Indian Air Force, it was one of the ...

, he participated in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

on behalf of Great Britain before joining the Pakistan Navy in 1947 as one of the senior staff officers. In 1969, he was appointed the Flag Officer Commanding of the Eastern Naval Command 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 ...

during the

civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

there, followed by the foreign intervention by India in 1971. After the war, he was taken as a war prisoner along with

Lieutenant-General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was normall ...

A.A.K Niazi, the commander of Pakistan Army's Eastern Command after conceding the surrender of the Pakistan Armed Forces personnel to the

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 ...

. He resumed his active military service in the Navy after his repatriation from India and was appointed the Chief of Naval Staff in 1975 after the sudden death of Vice-Admiral Hasan Ahmed. He had the distinction of being the first four-star admiral in the navy and was the first admiral to be appointed as Chairman joint chiefs committee in 1978 until 1980. As the Chairman Joint Chiefs Committee, he continued to advocate for an aggressive

foreign policy Foreign policy, also known as external policy, is the set of strategies and actions a State (polity), state employs in its interactions with other states, unions, and international entities. It encompasses a wide range of objectives, includ ...

and a strong

nuclear deterrent Nuclear strategy involves the development of doctrines and strategies for the production and use of nuclear weapons. As a sub-branch of military strategy, nuclear strategy attempts to match nuclear weapons as means to political ends. In addit ...

against foreign intervention. After retiring from the military in 1980, Shariff was appointed as chairman of

Federal Public Service Commission The Federal Public Service Commission (FPSC) () is a federal agency of Government of Pakistan that is responsible for recruiting civil servants and bureaucrats for Government of Pakistan. History The Public Service Commission was set up for ...

while he continued his role as military adviser to President Zia-ul-Haq until 1988 when he retired from public service. After living a quiet life in Islamabad, he announced the publishing of his memoirs, ''Admiral's Diary'', providing further accounts, causes, and failure of the military crackdown in East Pakistan.

Biography

World War II and RIN career

Mohammad Shariff was born in Gujrat,

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 ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

, into an Kashmiri-Punjabi family in 1920. As many of his contemporaries, he was educated at the

Rashtriya Indian Military College The Rashtriya Indian Military College (abbreviated RIMC; formerly known as Prince of Wales Royal Indian Military College) () is a military school for boys situated in Doon Valley, Dehradun in India. The RIMC is a feeder institution for the Nation ...

and joined the

(RIN) in 1936 as a sailor in the Communications Branch. One of his close colleagues at this time was Gautum Singh, whom he would fight against in 1971. He participated in the

as a signalist in the Royal Indian Navy on behalf of Great Britain and took part in military action in the

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Red sea The Red Sea is a sea inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. Its connection to the ocean is in the south, through the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait and the Gulf of Aden. To its north lie the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and th ...

, and

Bay of Bengal The Bay of Bengal is the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean. Geographically it is positioned between the Indian subcontinent and the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese peninsula, located below the Bengal region. Many South Asian and Southe ...

. In 1945, he went to the United Kingdom to attend 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, England where he graduated with a staff course degree.

War and staff appointments in Pakistan Navy

In 1947, the United Kingdom announced the partition of India. After the creation of Pakistan on 14 August 1947, Lieutenant Shariff decided to opt for Pakistan and joined the newly established

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 ...

. He was the 20th most senior lieutenant in the navy in terms of seniority list provided by the Royal Indian Navy to the Ministry of Defense (MoD) in 1947. In the 1950s, he served on various assignments in the Pakistan military and served as a senior staff officer at the Navy NHQ from 1953 to 1956 as Lieutenant-Commander. In 1960, he was promoted 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 ...

in the Navy and went to the United States where he attended 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 ...

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is a seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Rhode Island, United States. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and nort ...

, and graduated with a master's degree in

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 ...

in 1962. Upon returning to Pakistan in 1962, he was appointed as Deputy Chief of Naval Staff (Personnel) with a promoting rank of

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 ...

at the NHQ. In 1965, Captain Shariff continued his staff appointment role as DCNS (Personnel) at the NHQ and participated in the second war with India in 1965. He participated in planning of the naval assault against the

Indian Navy The Indian Navy (IN) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Navy, maritime and Amphibious warfare, amphibious branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of the Naval Staff (India), Chief ...

and provided his analysis based on personnel preparation for the operation. In 1966, he was promoted as Commodore and posted as DCNS (Operations) by the Commander in Chief Admiral Syed Mohammad Ahsan where he continued his role until 1969. In 1968, Commodore Shariff paid a goodwill visit to China alongside and held defence talks with the senior leadership of

People's Liberation Army The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the military of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the People's Republic of China (PRC). It consists of four Military branch, services—People's Liberation Army Ground Force, Ground Force, People's ...

Pakistan Eastern Naval Command

In 1969, Commodore Shariff was promoted as

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 ...

, a two-star rank, and posted in

as Flag Officer Commanding (FOC) at the Eastern Naval Command HQ. His naval command was coordinated with the army's Eastern Command. During the same time, President General

Yahya Khan Agha Muhammad Yahya Khan (4 February 191710 August 1980) was a Pakistani army officer who served as the third president of Pakistan from 1969 to 1971. He also served as the fifth Commander-in-Chief, Pakistan, commander-in-chief of the Pakistan ...

appointed Admiral Syed Mohammad Ahsan as the

Governor of East Pakistan The Governor of East Pakistan, formerly known as the Governor of East Bengal, served as the appointed Head of state, head of province of the Government of East Pakistan, provincial government and the representative of President of Pakistan in Ea ...

and Lt. Gen. Yaqub Khan as the commander of the army's Eastern Command, and the activities, momentum, and magnitude of the Pakistan Navy in East Pakistan increased at a maximum level, and more military and naval exercises began to take place in East Pakistan that initially focused on gathering intelligence on Indian infiltration in East. East Pakistan, under the martial law administration of Admiral Ahsan, saw the period of stability and the civil control and law and order situation was effectively under control. In 2010, Admiral Shariff authored his memories and concluded: In 1970, the

Election Commission An election commission is a body charged with overseeing the implementation of electioneering process of any country. The formal names of election commissions vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and may be styled an electoral commission, a c ...

held the

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 ...

in the country that resulted in

Awami League The Awami League, officially known as Bangladesh Awami League, is a major List of political parties in Bangladesh, political party in Bangladesh. The oldest existing political party in the country, the party played the leading role in achievin ...

securing the

supermajority A supermajority is a requirement for a proposal to gain a specified level of support which is greater than the threshold of one-half used for a simple majority. Supermajority rules in a democracy can help to prevent a majority from eroding fun ...

in the East while

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 ...

claiming the mandate in Pakistan. When the agitations in East Pakistan began to gain momentum, President Yahya held meeting with Governor Vice-Admiral Syed Mohammad Ahsan and army's Eastern Command's commander Lieutenant-General Yaqub Khan over their mission outcomes where both objected the brute force against the Bengali rebels. Despite opposition, President Yahya Khan authorized the '' Operation Searchlight'' and accepted the resignations from Governor Admiral Ahsan and General Yaqub, only to be appointed Lieutenant-General

Tikka Khan Tikka Khan, also known as the Butcher of Bengal.Tikka Khan title: * * * * * * * * (; 10 February 1915 – 28 March 2002) was a Pakistani military officer and war criminal who served as the first Chief of the Army Staff (Pakistan), chief of the a ...

as their capacity. The ''Searchlight'' resulted in quick success, but it had created a temporary momentum on Bengali rebels who started their insurgency from

Barisal Barisal ( or ; , ), officially known as Barishal, is a major city that lies on the banks of the Kirtankhola river in south-central Bangladesh. It is the largest city and the administrative headquarter of both Barisal District and Barisal Divi ...

, a riverine city which the Army had failed to infiltrated. Therefore, Rear-Admiral Shariff's command was put in test when he authorized the launch of

which resulted in immediate success, but it had no long-lasting effects. As the war progressed, he insisted on deployment of the combat warships to mount a serious pressure on the Indian Navy's

Eastern Naval Command The Eastern Naval Command is one of the three command-level formations of the Indian Navy. It is headquartered in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. The command is responsible for the all naval forces in the Bay of Bengal and parts of the Indian Ocea ...

but naval HQ did not grant his wishes in fear of losing the warships into the hands of the enemy. He personally led many operations undertaken after the deployment of the

Marines Marines (or naval infantry) are military personnel generally trained to operate on both land and sea, with a particular focus on amphibious warfare. Historically, the main tasks undertaken by marines have included Raid (military), raiding ashor ...

and SSG(N) against the Eastern Command of the

despite logistical disadvantages. Overall, the Pakistan Navy performed its mission task well and diligently by providing support to the army until the end. However, while the Navy was successful by performing its task, Pakistan Army's Eastern Military Commands were unsuccessful to achieve their objectives. In the East, he earned his reputation as an effective commander within the military circles whose efforts had partially made the strategic shores of East Pakistan safe from the Indian Navy.

Liberation war and surrender

The

Indian Air Force The Indian Air Force (IAF) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the air force, air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial warfare during armed conflicts. It was officially established on 8 Octob ...

's aerial campaign resulted in taking Sq. Ldr PQ Mehdi as war prisoner and dismantling the only No. 14 Squadron active in the East. Admiral Shariff authorized Lieutenant-Colonel Liaquat Asrar Bukhari to evacuate the Aviation Corps and take refuge to neighbouring

Burma Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...

. When

Air Commodore Air commodore (Air Cdre or Air Cmde) is an air officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence and it is sometimes ...

Inamul Haq, commander of Eastern Air Command, argued against the evacuation, Shariff strongly lobbied for the evacuation by convincing

Niazi that Colonel Liaqat Bukhari should be allowed to give it a try, as several helicopters would be prevented from falling into enemy hands. General Niazi agreed with Rear-Admiral Shariff and ordered Colonel Liaqat to launch an evacuation operation immediately. Over several nights, the army aviators, large number of PAF pilots and personnel successfully left for Akyab in Burma. About the deployment of US Taskforce 74 in support to the Pakistani military, Admiral Shariff had notified General Niazi that "if the American Fleet had been coming to help them astern Command it would have established contacts with his HQ." During the entire military conflict, insurgency was widely spread to entire provincial state, East Pakistan. The Indian Military had intervened in East-Pakistan, the Eastern Air Command and Eastern Military Command forced Lieutenant-General A. A. K. Niazi to surrender the Pakistan Eastern Command Forces to his counterpart Jagjit Singh Arora. In spite of Eastern Naval Command paying a heavy price, Admiral Shariff continued to keep the morale of Pakistan Navy personnel on high who were later pushed back to the wall by Mukti Bahni and the animosity of public that pounded the Pakistan Naval assets. As Indian Armed Forces entered in East-Pakistan, Shariff planned an immediate evacuation operation. He commanded and oversaw the maximum evacuation of Pakistan Naval assets from East Pakistan to Burma in a limited time. However, the night Pakistan Eastern Military High Command were surrendered, Shariff with a small number of military officers planned to leave as the Pakistan naval vessel was waiting for their evacuation. As the East-Pakistan fell, all the naval routes were closed by Indian Navy, forcing Shariff to remain in East-Pakistan. On 16 December, Rear-Admiral Mohammad Shariff surrendered his

TT pistol The TT-30, commonly known simply as the Tokarev, is a Soviet-made semi-automatic pistol. It was developed during the late 1920s by Fedor Tokarev as a service pistol for the Soviet Armed Forces and was based on the earlier pistol designs of John M ...

to Vice-Admiral Nilakanta Krishnan, the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Naval Command at 4:31pm (16:31hrs). His TT Pistol is still placed in " covered glass" display at the

Indian Military Academy The Indian Military Academy (IMA) is one of the oldest military academies in India, and trains officers for the Indian Army. Located in Dehradun, Uttarakhand, it was established in 1932 following a recommendation by a military committee set up ...

's Museum. Later, he joined General Niazi where he was presented at the time when the '' Instrument of Surrender'' was signed. Shariff was the only Admiral at that particular event, with thirty brigadiers, and four Major-Generals, and thousands of soldiers and personnel witnessed the event and instrument that Niazi signed.

War prisoner and return

Upon surrendering of the Eastern Command, Rear-Admiral Shariff was taken as

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...

(POW) and was taken adjacent Camp No. 77A, where many of the senior military officials were held, including Lieutenant-General Niazi, in 1971. In 1972, he was later shifted to Fort William in

Calcutta Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...

where the U.S. Navy naval chief Admiral

Elmo Zumwalt Elmo Russell "Bud" Zumwalt Jr. (November 29, 1920 – January 2, 2000) was a United States Navy officer and the youngest person to serve as Chief of Naval Operations. As an Admiral (United States), admiral and later the 19th Chief of Naval Opera ...

paid him a visit, followed by a visit of Indian naval chief Admiral S. M. Nanda. Later, Admiral Nanda transferred him to

Jabalpur Jabalpur, formerly Jubbulpore, is a city situated on the banks of Narmada River in the state of Madhya Pradesh, India. It is the 3rd-largest urban agglomeration of the state and the 38th-largest of the country. Jabalpur is the administrative h ...

, to Rear-Admiral Gautum Singh who had done communications operations and specialization under Admiral Shariff in '' HMS Mercury'' during World War II. He also requested a copy of the

Quran The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...

which he recited during his time of his imprisonment. In March 1973, the

Indian government The Government of India (ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of 36 states and union territor ...

handed over Rear-Admiral Shariff to

Pakistan government 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, cons ...

at the Wagha border. He was allowed to resume his military service and testified in the War Enquiry Commission, where he noted that: "the foundation for the defeat in East Pakistan could be traced back to the

military coup d'état A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...

in 1958 where senior officers became greedy self-serving politicians rather than soldiers." In 1974, he was promoted as

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 ...

and appointed as Vice-Chief of Naval Staff under Vice-Admiral H.H. Ahmed despite the latter being junior to Vice-Admiral Shariff.

Chief of Naval Staff

On 23 March 1975, Vice-Admiral Shariff's appointment as Chief of Naval Staff was approved by Prime Minister

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (5 January 1928 – 4 April 1979) was a Pakistani barrister and politician who served as the fourth president of Pakistan from 1971 to 1973 and later as the ninth Prime Minister of Pakistan, prime minister of Pakistan from 19 ...

after Vice-Admiral H. H. Ahmed died of heart complications on 8 March 1975. At the time of his appointment, he was the most senior admiral and superseded no one. In 1976, Vice-Admiral Shariff was promoted to four-star rank Admiral by President Fazal Ilahi Chaudhry— the first four-star appointment in the history of the Navy since its establishment in 1947.

Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff

On 22 January 1977, he was appointed acting

Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee The Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC) is, in principle, the highest-ranking and senior most uniformed military officer, typically at four-star rank, in the Pakistan Armed Forces who serves as a principal staff officer (PSO) an ...

in the absence of General Muhammad Shariff and led the delegation to meet with

Vice Chairman The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...

Li Xiannian Li Xiannian (; 23 June 1909 – 21 June 1992) was a Chinese Chinese Communist Party, Communist military and political leader, president of China from 1983 to 1988 under paramount leader Deng Xiaoping and then chairman of the Chinese People's Politi ...

when he paid a state visit to Pakistan. In 1977, Admiral Shariff supported the

enforced by Chief of Army Staff General Zia-ul-Haq after the popular civil unrest sparked after the

held in 1977. He was named deputy CMLA in the Military Council that is viewed to assist President Fazal Ilahi. In 1977, he was appointed acting Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee in the absence of General Muhammad Shariff who later resigned amid disagreement of the decision of the martial law on 22 January 1977. To sustain the presidency, the military staff appointments in the Navy and the Air Force were highly important for President Zia-ul-Haq to keep the inter-services loyal to General Zia-ul-Haq. In 1978, his appointment to the chairman joint chiefs was officially confirmed by President Ilahi after the involuntary resignation of General Muhammad Sharif. He was the second chairman joint chiefs and the first admiral to have been appointed chairman joint chiefs. With Admiral Shariff appointed as Chairman joint chiefs, he invited Admiral Karamat Rahman Niazi to be appointed as Chief of Naval Staff in his capacity who was also promoted to the four-star rank. His experience as Deputy MLA in East Pakistan highly benefitted General Zia-ul-Haq to consolidate and stabilize the presidency of President Zia-ul-Haq in 1978.

Soviet–Afghan War

On 25 December 1979, the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

officially intervened in Afghanistan and President Zia called for a national security meeting that was attended by the Chairman joint chiefs, chiefs of staff of army, navy, and air force. At this meeting, he made no intentions against Soviet involvement in East Pakistan's crises after witnessing the Soviet support to India and

Mukti Bahini The Mukti Bahini, initially called the Mukti Fauj, also known as the Bangladesh Forces, was a big tent armed guerrilla resistance movement consisting of the Bangladeshi military personnel, paramilitary personnel and civilians during the Ba ...

. After this meeting, Zia authorized this operation under General Akhtar, and it was later merged with Operation Cyclone, a programme funded by the United States and the CIA. At this meeting, President Zia had asked Admiral Shariff and his army chief of staff General Khalid Mahmud Arif to lead a geo-strategic civil-military team to formulate a geostrategy to counter Soviet aggression. He played a crucial role in President Zia's policy on

nuclear weapons A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either nuclear fission, fission (fission or atomic bomb) or a combination of fission and nuclear fusion, fusion reactions (thermonuclear weap ...

and was a strong proponent for the implementation of the

with a view to prevention of foreign intervention.

Later life and post-retirement

In 1980, Admiral Shariff's retirement was due and decided not to seek an extension as he was succeeded by General Iqbal Khan. He was given a guard of honour, and a monument under his name was built in Navy NHQ and the Joint Staff HQ. Upon retirement, he was appointed as Chairman of the

and continued his role as military adviser to President Zia-ul-Haq. However, he was given criticism for leading the appointment of those civil bureaucrats who were loyal to his government and his chairmanship, while those who were not were subsequently moved. He continued his role as military adviser and the chairmanship until the death of President Zia-ul-Haq in 1988 and took retirement from public service and his role as the military adviser to 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 ...

. Admiral Shariff was a recipient of

Hilal-i-Jurat The Hilal-e-Jurat ( , as if it were ''Halāl-e-Jurāt''; English: Crescent of Courage , sometimes spelled as Hilal-e-Jur'at, Hilal-e-Jurat, Hilal-i-Jurrat and Hilal-i-Juraat)Various official sources that are highly reputable spell the name of th ...

, which was awarded to him after the 1971 war and the ''

Nishan-e-Imtiaz The Nishan-e-Imtiaz (; ) is one of the state organized Civil decorations of Pakistan, civil decorations of Pakistan. It is awarded for achievements towards world recognition for Pakistan or outstanding service for the country. However, the awa ...

'' by Bhutto after coming back from India. After his retirement, he lived a quiet life 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 ...

surrounded and supported by close friends and family, and served as President of ''Elaf Club of Pakistan'', a political and military think tank based in Islamabad. On 23 September 2010, Admiral Shariff wrote and launched his first autobiography ''Admiral's Diary'', in English. The ceremony was held at the Bahria University Auditorium. Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Noman Bashir was chief guest on the occasion. The book launching was attended by seasoned retired military officers and serving bureaucrats, senior retired and serving officers of the three services, family members and friends of the author, notable literary personalities, press and media. Shariff died on 27 April 2020.

Awards and decorations

Foreign Decorations

References

External links

Official website of Pakistan Navy

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Shariff, Mohammad Admirals of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 Chairmen Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee Chiefs of Naval Staff (Pakistan) Foreign recipients of the Legion of Merit Indian military personnel of World War II Military government of Pakistan (1977–1988) Pakistani cryptographers Pakistani memoirists Pakistani prisoners of war Pakistani writers People of the Bangladesh Liberation War People of the Soviet–Afghan War Recipients of Hilal-i-Imtiaz Recipients of Hilal-i-Jur'at Recipients of Nishan-e-Imtiaz Recipients of Sitara-i-Imtiaz Royal Indian Navy officers Graduates of Britannia Royal Naval College Naval War College alumni Rashtriya Indian Military College alumni Telegraphists People from Gujrat District People from Islamabad 1920 births 2020 deaths Pakistani people of Kashmiri descent Bangladesh Liberation War prisoners of war