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Sheikh Mohammad Anwar ( ; 19 September 1920 – 24 January 1977), popularly known as SM Anwar, was a Pakistani one-star rank admiral 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 have ...

of the

25th Destroyer Squadron The 25th Destroyer Squadron (DESRON-25) is one of the two destroyer squadrons in the Pakistan Navy and is part of the six total Squadron (naval), squadrons in the fleet. It is the largest squadron in the navy, second only to the 9th Auxiliary Squ ...

that attack and raided the radar station in

Dwarka Dwarka () is a town and municipality of Devbhumi Dwarka district in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Gujarat. It is located on the western shore of the Okhamandal Peninsula on the right bank of the Gomti river at ...

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, 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 List of states and union territories ...

during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965. Despite his feat, Anwar's accomplishment in the Navy was not well known. He died 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 ...

in 1979 . It was only in the 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, telefilm, telemovie or TV film/movie, is a film with a running time similar to a feature film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a terrestr ...

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

Biography

Sheikh Mohammad Anwar 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 ...

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 ...

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

Forman Christian College University Forman Christian College is a private nonprofit Liberal arts college, liberal arts Universities in Pakistan, university in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. It was founded in 1864 and is administered by the Presbyterian Church (USA), Presbyterian Church ...

, graduating in 1940. He joined and commissioned 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 ...

as a Sub-Lieutenant in 1941, and briefly served in World War II's Burma theatre in 1942–43. After the India's partition that resulted in the

independence of Pakistan The Pakistan Movement was a religiopolitical and social movement that emerged in the early 20th century as part of a campaign that advocated the creation of an Islamic state in parts of what was then British Raj. It was rooted in the two-nation th ...

on 14 August 1947, Lt Anwar joined 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 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 associa ...

Rhodes Island Rhodes (; ) is the largest of the Dodecanese islands of Greece and is their historical capital; it is the ninth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Administratively, the island forms a separate municipality within the Rhodes regional ...

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

in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

's surface warships for two months. In 1960, Cdr Anwar served as base commander for the PNS Bahadur, a training establishment. In 1962, Capt. Anwar was appointed 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 tenured 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

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. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

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 (United Kingdom), Naval Service. The Vice-Admiral incumbent is requ ...

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) (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 ...

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 Awards and decorations of the United States military, military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievemen ...

, presented by then- U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan

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) () is a Government of Pakistan, Pakistani federal government agency, under the administrative control of the Maritime Secretary of Pakistan, Federal Maritime Secretary that oversees the operations of the Port of Ka ...

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 ...

of the

Pakistan Marine Academy Pakistan Marine Academy (PMA) () 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 NED Uni ...

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 a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anwar, S. M. 1920 births 1977 deaths Military personnel from Lahore 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 Marines Pakistan Merchant Navy