Mohammad Shariff

Admiral Mohammad Shariff Hilal-e-Jurat NI(M) HJ HI(M) LoM
محمد شريف
Admiral Shariff (left) meeting his US counterpart Admiral William J. Crowe.
2nd Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee
In office 23 January 1977 – 13 April 1980
Preceded by	General Muhammad Shariff
Succeeded by	General Iqbal Khan
Chief of Naval Staff
In office 23 March 1975 – 21 March 1979
Preceded by	Vice-Admiral Hasan Hafeez Ahmed
Succeeded by	Admiral Karamat Rahman Niazi
Chairman of Federal Public Service Commission
In office 1980–1986
Personal details
Born	1 July 1920 Bhurchh in Kharian Tehsil, District Gujrat, Punjab, British India[1]: 372  (now West Punjab, Pakistan)
Died	27 April 2020(2020-04-27) (aged 99)
Resting place	Islamabad, Pakistan
Citizenship	British Subject (1920-1947)  Pakistan (1947-2020)
Military service
Branch/service	Royal Indian Navy (1936–1947)  Pakistan Navy (1947–80)
Years of service	1936-1980
Rank	Admiral
Unit	Executive Branch
Commands	Vice Chief of Naval Staff DCNS (Operations) DCNS (Personnel) Eastern Naval Command, East Pakistan
Battles/wars	World War II Battle of the Atlantic Battle of Mediterranean Royal Indian Navy mutiny Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 Operation Dwarka Bangladesh Liberation War Operation Searchlight Operation Barisal Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 (Eastern Front) Operation Fair Play Soviet–Afghan War
Awards	Nishan-e-Imtiaz (Military) Hilal-e-Jurat Hilal-e-Imtiaz (Military) Legion of Merit
Service number	S/No. PN. 138

Admiral Mohammad Shariff NI(M) HJ HI(M) LoM (Urdu: محمد شريف ; 1 July 1920 – 27 April 2020^[2]), was a Pakistani senior admiral who served as the 2nd Chairman 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 in the country in 1977, and the decision in covertly intervening against Soviet Union in Afghanistan.

Gaining commission in the Royal Indian Navy, he participated in World War II 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 during the civil war there, followed by the foreign intervention by India in 1971. After the war, he was taken as a war prisoner along with Lieutenant-General 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.

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 and a strong nuclear deterrent against foreign intervention.^{[3]: 331–334}

After retiring from the military in 1980, Shariff was appointed as chairman of Federal Public Service Commission 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.