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 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 the 20th Chief of Naval Staff of the

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

Olympics The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a variety of competit ...

for a sailing class category and being a gold medallist at the

1990 Asian Games ) , nations = 31 , athletes = 6,122 , events = 308 in 27 sports , opening = 22 September 1990 , closing = 7 October 1990 , opened_by = Yang Shangkun , closed_by = Roy de Silva , athlete_oath = Chen L ...

, 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 economic stimulus, stimulate economic development. They connect different Agent (economics), economic agents in a particular geographic area. Corr ...

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 The Turkish Naval Forces (), or Turkish Navy (), is the naval warfare service branch of the TAF. The modern naval traditions and customs of the Turkish Navy can be traced back to 10 July 1920, when it was established as the ''Directorate o ...

. 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 In nuclear strategy, a retaliatory strike or second-strike capability is a country's assured ability to respond to a nuclear attack with powerful nuclear retaliation against the attacker. To have such an ability (and to convince an opponent of it ...

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 The 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 de ...

of the Navy.

Biography

Early life and career in Navy

Muhammad Zakaullah was born in

Lyalpur Faisalabad, formerly known as Lyallpur, is the second-largest city and primary industrial center of the Pakistani province of Punjab. Located in the Rachna Doab of central Punjab, it is the third-most populous city in Pakistan. Establishe ...

(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 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 ...

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 The Jat people (, ), also spelt Jaat and Jatt, are a traditionally agricultural community in Northern India and Pakistan. Originally pastoralists in the lower Indus river-valley of Sindh, many Jats migrated north into the Punjab region in l ...

family. After graduating from

Cadet College Hasan Abdal Cadet College Hasanabdal (CCH) is a residential secondary school located in Hasan Abdal, Attock District, Punjab, Pakistan.

, he joined the

in 1975 where he was sent to join the

Pakistan Naval Academy The Pakistan Naval Academy (PNA), PNS Rahbar, Manora is a federal military academy located in Manora, Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. Established in Manora, Karachi, under Vice-Admiral Syed Mohammad Ahsan in 1970, it is one of the technologicall ...

, graduating at the top of his class, he was conferred with the coveted

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

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 The Royal Naval College, Greenwich, was a Royal Navy training establishment between 1873 and 1998, providing courses for naval officers. It was the home of the Royal Navy's staff college, which provided advanced training for officers. The equi ...

, 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 Military science is the study of military processes, institutions, and behavior, along with the study of warfare, and the theory and application of organized coercive force. It is mainly focused on theory, method, and practice of producing mi ...

. He also attended and graduated from the

Quaid-e-Azam University Quaid-i-Azam University (QAU), founded as the University of Islamabad, is a Public university, public research university in Islamabad, Pakistan. Founded as the University of Islamabad in 1967, it was initially dedicated to postgraduate educat ...

, having attained an MSc 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 ...

. 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 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 ...

Zakaullah served as the Directing Staff at the

Pakistan Naval War College The Pakistan Navy War College is a military staff college located in Walton Cantonment in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. The Navy War College takes pride itself as being the "center of excellence" as it educates and develops leaders in maritime mat ...

before taken 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 ...

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

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 t ...

. From 1999 till 2003,

Commodore Commodore may refer to: Ranks * Commodore (rank), a naval rank ** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom ** Commodore (India), in India ** Commodore (United States) ** Commodore (Canada) ** Commodore (Finland) ** Commodore (Germany) or ' ...

Zakaullah served as the

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

of 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 ...

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

Naval Police 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 ...

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 Shaukat Aziz (born 6 March 1949) is a Pakistani-born British former banker who served as the 15th prime minister of Pakistan from 28 August 2004 to 15 November 2007. When his term as Prime Minister was over, he immediately left Pakistan and se ...

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 Naval Headquarters (NHQ) is the name of the headquarters of many of the world's navies. These include: *Naval Headquarters (Pakistan) *Naval Headquarters (Sri Lanka) Naval Headquarters (NHQ) is the headquarters of the Sri Lanka Navy. Established ...

, 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 In physics, a force is an influence that can cause an object to change its velocity unless counterbalanced by other forces. In mechanics, force makes ideas like 'pushing' or 'pulling' mathematically precise. Because the magnitude and directi ...

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

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 ...

'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 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 ...

Zakuallah was promoted to four-star rank admiral. He became the first naval chief in the history of Pakistan who was a

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 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. ** Spain and Portugal en ...

and

1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...

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