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, a ...

Sheikh Mohammad Anwar ( ur, شيخ محمد انور ; 19 September 1920 – 24 January 1977), popularly known as SM Anwar, was a one-star rank admiral 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 is known for his role as

officer in tactical command In NATO, the officer in tactical command (OTC) is the naval officer exercising tactical command of a group of ships in a tactical formation such as a task unit, task group, or task force. Ships travelling together on a specific mission might hav ...

of the 25th Destroyer Squadron that attack and raided the radar station in

Dwarka Dwarka () is a city and a municipality of Devbhumi Dwarka district in the States and territories of India, state of Gujarat in Western India. It is located on the western shore of the Okhamandal Peninsula on the right bank of the Gomti rive ...

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the nin ...

during the second war with India in 1965. Despite his feat, Anwar's accomplishment in the Navy was not well known. He died in

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former ...

in 1977. It was only in 1990s when his role as war hero was highlighted when ISPR released the

telefilm A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

of same name of operation. After much literary criticism by media and veterans, his achievements were recognized in 2010s.

Biography

Sheikh Mohammad Anwar was born in

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest ...

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

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

, on 12 September 1920. After his matriculation, he was educated at the

Forman Christian College University Forman Christian College is an private liberal arts Liberal arts education (from Latin "free" and "art or principled practice") is the traditional academic course in Western higher education. ''Liberal arts'' takes the term '' art'' in ...

, graduating in 1940. He joined and commissioned in the

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

as a

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 ...

in 1941, and briefly served in World War II's Burma theatre in 1942–43. After the

India's partition The Partition of British India in 1947 was the change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: India and Pakistan. T ...

that resulted in the

independence of Pakistan The Pakistan Movement ( ur, , translit=Teḥrīk-e-Pākistān) was a political movement in the first half of the 20th century that aimed for the creation of Pakistan from the Muslim-majority areas of British India. It was connected to the p ...

on 14 August 1947, Lt Anwar joined the

, and was directed 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 associ ...

Rhodes Island Rhodes (; el, Ρόδος , translit=Ródos ) is the largest and the historical capital of the Dodecanese islands of Greece. Administratively, the island forms a separate municipality within the Rhodes regional unit, which is part of the Sou ...

, United States, in 1958. After graduating from the Naval War College in 1959,

Cdr. 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 ...

Anwar served as an

exchange officer An exchange officer is a commissioned officer in a country's armed forces who is temporarily seconded either to a unit of the armed forces of another country or to another branch of the armed forces of their own country. The exchange officer will u ...

in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

's surface warships for two months. In 1960, Cdr Anwar served as base commander for the

PNS Bahadur The PNS Bahadur is the naval station and the largest operations training facility located in the urban neighborhood of Karsaz in Karachi that provides operations education on the subjects of Navigation, Radars warfare, Hyderography, Communicat ...

, a training establishment. In 1962, Capt. Anwar was appointed by the

Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in state ...

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

naval attaché A navy, naval force, 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 related functions. It inclu ...

at the

Embassy of Pakistan This is a list of diplomatic missions of Pakistan, excluding honorary consulates. As the fifth-most populous country and the second-most populous country in the Muslim world, Pakistan has an extensive and large diplomatic network around the worl ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

in the United States until 1964. In 1965, Anwar was appointed as 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. The Vice-Admiral incumbent is required to provide ships, submarine ...

when he took over the command of the Pakistan Fleet (COMPAK). During the second war with India in 1965, Cdre. Anwar was the

of the 25th Destroyer Squadron who led the attack and raid radar station used by the

Indian Air Force The Indian Air Force (IAF) is the air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its complement of personnel and aircraft assets ranks third amongst the air forces of the world. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial w ...

in India. In 1968, the United States honoured him with their highest military award, the

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements. The decoration is issued to members of the eight ...

, presented by then-

U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan The U.S. embassy in Karachi was established August 15, 1947 with Edward W. Holmes as Chargé d'Affaires ''ad interim'', pending the appointment of an ambassador. The first ambassador, Paul H. Alling, was appointed on September 20, 1947. Anne W. P ...

Eugene Locke Eugene Murphy Locke (January 6, 1918 – April 28, 1972) was an American lawyer, businessman, politician, and diplomat from Dallas, Texas, who in 1967 was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He was ambassador to Pakistan in 1966-1967 and d ...

. In 1969, he was appointed as chairman of

Karachi Port Trust The Karachi Port Trust (KPT) ( ur, ) is a Pakistani federal government agency under the administrative control of the Federal Maritime Secretary that oversees the operations of the Port of Karachi, one of South Asia's largest and busiest d ...

which he remained until 1970. In 1971, Cdre. Anwar served in the command of the Marines Corps for a short period, and was later appointed as

commandant Commandant ( or ) is a title often given to the officer in charge of a military (or other uniformed service) training establishment or academy. This usage is common in English-speaking nations. In some countries it may be a military or police ran ...

of the

Pakistan Marine Academy Pakistan Marine Academy (PMA) ( ur, ) is located at Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. It is a Seafarers Training Academy, working under Federal Ministry of Maritime Affairs, Government of Pakistan as an autonomous department. It is affiliated with NE ...

until 1975. Despite his role and heroic feats in 1965 war, his role in the Navy was less known and was hardly recognised in the Navy. He was unknown to the public, and it was not until 1990s when the ISPR highlighted his role as a war hero when releasing the telefilm bearing the same name of operation that was aired on the STN; his role was played by Talat Hussain in the 1990s. His death also went unnoticed in 1977, and it was only in 2016, when the Pakistan Navy officially recognised his services on their official page on

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anwar, S. M. 1920 births 1977 deaths People from Lahore Punjabi people Forman Christian College alumni Royal Indian Navy officers Indian military personnel of World War II Naval War College alumni Pakistan Navy officers Military personnel of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 Foreign recipients of the Legion of Merit Pakistan Navy admirals Pakistan Marines Pakistan Merchant Navy Admirals of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965