Tariq Kamal Khan ; (born 23 January 1933), is a retired four-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 ...

who served as the 9th Chief of Naval Staff (CNS) of

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 ...

from being appointed in 1983 until retiring from his

service Service may refer to: Activities * Administrative service, a required part of the workload of university faculty * Civil service, the body of employees of a government * Community service, volunteer service for the benefit of a community or a ...

in 1986. Prior to that, he was appointed as the High Commissioner of Pakistan to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

and served from 1986 until 1992, when he retired from the foreign service.

Biography

Early life, education and naval career

Education: Presentation Convent Murree; St Anthony's High School Lahore (Senior Cambridge 1948); Government College Lahore. Bsc 1954 Karachi University. Joined Pakistan Navy September 1951. Joined Royal Naval College Dartmouth UK May 1952 Trained in UK and was commissioned as sub lieutenant on 1 September 1954. Lieutenant 1 April 1957 Served as navigator PNS ''Badr'' and XO minesweeper PNS ''Mubarak''. Qualified Underwater Swimming School US June 1960. Qualified Underwater Demolition Team (USN SEALS) US October 1960. Qualified parachutist Fort Benning Georgia US November 1960. Attached with Special Service Group (Army) at Cherat April to November 1961. Qualified Torpedo & Anti-Submarine Specialist UK November 1962. TAS Officer PNS Alamgir December 62 to November 63. As lieutenant commander served as deputy director PN Tactical School end 1963 to early 1965. Executive officer PNS ''Jahangir'' 1965 throughout The Rann of Kutch and 1965 War. Staff officer operations NHQ 1966. Raised and commanded Special Service Group (Navy) 1967–1969. Commanded the Minesweeping Squadron and PNS ''Mubarak'' as COMINRON before assuming command of destroyer PNS ''Jahangir'' in East Pakistan on 18 March 1971. Brought the ship back to W Pakistan in July 1971 and was in command till immediately after the ceasefire of the 1971 War. Appointed Director Naval Operations NHQ end December 1971. Commanded cruiser PNS ''Babur'' April to September 1973. Assumed command of PN ''Destroyer'' ''Badr'' as COMDESRON in September 1973. Naval attache London August 1974 to December 1977. Director naval warfare and operational plans NHQ 1978. Joined Royal College of Defence Studies London January 1979 as commodore and graduated December 1979. March 1980 appointed Assistant Chief of Naval Staff (Operations) NHQ. Appointed Commander Pakistan Fleet early 1981. Promoted rear admiral early 1982 and appointed Commander Karachi. Promoted vice admiral 23 March 1983 and appointed Chief of The Naval Staff. Promoted admiral 23 March 1984. Retired 10 April 1986.

Naval career and star appointments

Tariq Kemal Khan was born in Domeli, Dist Jhelum,

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 a Gakhar Kayani family on 21 May 1930. He is son of Col Sir Sher Mohammad Khan. After graduating from a local high school, he was commissioned as

Midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest Military rank#Subordinate/student officer, rank in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Royal Cana ...

in the

in 1948 in Surface warfare branch and was initially trained at the

Pakistan Military Academy Pakistan Military Academy (PMA) is a military academy located nearby Kakul village in Abbottabad, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Established in October 1947, it is the only service academy in Pakistan that trains cadets to serve as army of ...

. He was later trained in the

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 ...

as a

communication Communication is commonly defined as the transmission of information. Its precise definition is disputed and there are disagreements about whether Intention, unintentional or failed transmissions are included and whether communication not onl ...

specialist and as the surface warfare officer and promoted as Sub-Lieutenant after returning to Pakistan. His further military training came from 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 England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

and did qualified on courses on

military communications Military communications or military signals involve all aspects of communications, or conveyance of information, by armed forces. Examples from '' Jane's Military Communications'' include text, audio, facsimile, tactical ground-based communica ...

. In 1965,

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 ...

TK Khan participated in second 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 ...

and served on PNS ''Shah Jahan'' as its

executive officer An executive officer is a person who is principally responsible for leading all or part of an organization, although the exact nature of the role varies depending on the organization. In many militaries and police forces, an executive officer ...

while taking part on naval shelling 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 ...

. In 1969, he was promoted as lieutenant-commander and

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 ...

after posting 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 ...

commanding officer The commanding officer (CO) or commander, or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually give ...

of . Cdr TK Khan also helped 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 ...

with the communication gears and firing at the

East Pakistan Rifles East is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fact that eas ...

headquarters to crush Bengali resistance in Chittagong area. Cdr Khan participated on various military riverine missions while commanding a

gunboat A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies. History Pre-steam ...

, ''Jahangir'', and was taken war prisoner after the accessioning of the surrender with

in 1971. He was repatriated to Pakistan and continue resuming his military service when he was promoted 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. From 1975 to 1978, Captain Khan was posted in the Foreign ministry to be served as naval attaché to the Pakistan High Commission in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. Upon returning to Pakistan, he was promoted to one-star rank, Commodore and posted in Karachi for a command assignment in 1978. Cdre Khan commanded the 18th Destroyer Squadron as its

officer commanding The commanding officer (CO) or commander, or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually giv ...

until 1980 after promoting 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 ...

Chief of Naval Staff

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 ...

Khan was appointed Commander Karachi (COMKAR) until 1983 when he succeeded Admiral K.R. Niazi as Chief of Naval Staff. On 22 March 1983,

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 ...

Zia-ul-Haq announced to appoint Rear-Admiral Khan as the Chief of Naval Staff but this promotion came with controversy. Rear-Admiral TK Khan, a junior admiral, supersedes the most senior

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 ...

Iqbal Quadir and two senior Rear-Admirals for the command of the Navy in 1983. Rear-Admiral TK Khan was known to be close to President Zia and had experience in military administration in civil affairs from the East Pakistan, that may have been a factor for his appointment to the four-star appointment. After his appointment was announced, Rear-Admiral Tariq Kemal Khan was appointed as four-star rank

in the Navy. In 1983, he helped negotiated the acquisition of Mirage V aircraft from

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

for the

Pakistan Air Force The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) (; ) is the aerial warfare branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces, tasked primarily with the aerial defence of Pakistan, with a secondary role of providing air support to the Pakistan Army and Pakistan Navy when re ...

when he traveled to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, France. As naval chief, Admiral TK Khan began initiating a program to acquire and procure modern warships to replace and scrap the aging warships in service with the Navy. Admiral Tariq Kemal worked closely towards strengthening

bilateral relations Bilateralism is the conduct of political, economic, or cultural relations between two sovereign states. It is in contrast to unilateralism or multilateralism, which is activity by a single state or jointly by multiple states, respectively. When ...

between

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

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# ...

, briefly meeting with Chinese President

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 ...

for that purpose in 1984. Admiral Tariq Kemal Khan remained naval chief until naval chief he sought retirement from his active service and handed over the command to his VCNS,

Iftikhar Ahmed Sirohey.

Decorations and awards

* 1965 Imtiazi Sanad (Mention in Dispatches) * 1969 TQA * 1982 HI(M) * 1983 NI(M) * 1985 Legion of Merit (Commander) USA

Diplomatic assignments

July 1986 to July 1990 Ambassador / High Commissioner Australia with concurrent accreditation to New Zealand & Fiji. Jan 1992 to Aug 1992 Ambassador Yugoslavia. May 1993 to May 1995 Ambassador Tunisia.

Awards and decorations

Foreign Decorations

Footnotes

References

External links

Official website of Pakistan Navy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Khan, Tariq Kemal 1933 births Living people People from Jhelum Pakistan Military Academy alumni Graduates of Britannia Royal Naval College Pakistani military personnel of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 Pakistani prisoners of war Military government of Pakistan (1977–1988) Chiefs of Naval Staff (Pakistan) People from Islamabad High commissioners of Pakistan to Australia High commissioners of Pakistan to New Zealand Ambassadors of Pakistan to Tunisia Ambassadors of Pakistan to Yugoslavia Pakistani naval attachés Recipients of Nishan-e-Imtiaz Recipients of Hilal-i-Imtiaz Recipients of Sitara-i-Imtiaz Bangladesh Liberation War prisoners of war