Saeed Mohammad Khan

Admiral
Saeed Mohammad Khan
NI(M) HI(M) SI(M) SBt
12th Chief of Naval Staff
In office
9 November 1991 – 9 November 1994
PresidentGhulam Ishaq Khan
Wasim Sajjad (acting)
Farooq Leghari
Prime MinisterNawaz Sharif
Moeenuddin Ahmad Qureshi (caretaker)
Benazir Bhutto
Preceded byYastur-ul-Haq Malik
Succeeded byMansurul Haq
Chairman, Pakistan National Shipping Corporation
In office
11 November 1988 – 13 December 1990
Pakistan Ambassador to the Netherlands
In office
1994–1998
Prime MinisterBenazir Bhutto
Nawaz Sharif
Personal details
Born(1935-10-01)1 October 1935
Bhopal, Bhopal State, British India
Died4 December 2022(2022-12-04) (aged 87)
Islamabad, Pakistan
Resting placeH-11 Cemetery, Islamabad
Awards
Nickname"Beast of the Sea"
Military service
Allegiance Pakistan
Branch/service Pakistan Navy
Years of service
1954–1994
Rank Admiral
UnitOperations Branch
CommandsVice Chief of Naval Staff
Commander Pakistan Fleet
Flag Officer Sea Training
Battles/warsIndo-Pakistani war of 1965
Indo-Pakistani war of 1971

Saeed Mohammad Khan (1 October 1935 – 4 December 2022) was a Pakistan Navy officer who served as the 12th Chief of Naval Staff of the Pakistan Navy from 9 November 1991 to 9 November 1994.[1] Following his retirement, he served as Pakistan's Ambassador to the Netherlands from 1994 to 1998.

Early life

Saeed Mohammad Khan was born on 1 October 1935 in Bhopal, in the princely state of Bhopal in British India, into a Bhopali Pathan family.[2] His family migrated to Pakistan after the partition of India in 1947 and settled in Karachi.[2]

Khan was commissioned as a midshipman in the Operations Branch of the Pakistan Navy in 1954 and was sent to the United Kingdom for training as a navigation specialist at HMS Dryad.[3] On returning to Pakistan in 1958 he was promoted to sub-lieutenant and posted to Tariq in the gunnery branch.[3]: 145 

During the 1960s, Khan commanded Tariq and saw action in the 1965 and 1971 wars with India as a gunnery specialist; according to a memoir by a contemporary, his superiors gave him the nickname "Beast of the Sea".[3]: 149 

Senior appointments

Khan served as Flag Officer Sea Training from 1980 to 1984 in the rank of rear admiral.[3]: 155  In 1984 he was appointed Commander Pakistan Fleet (COMPAK) as a vice admiral, and subsequently Vice Chief of Naval Staff under Admiral Yastur-ul-Haq Malik.[4]: 416 

From 11 November 1988 to 13 December 1990, Khan served as Chairman of the Pakistan National Shipping Corporation.[5]

Chief of Naval Staff

Khan was promoted to four-star rank on 11 August 1991 and assumed command as Chief of Naval Staff on 9 November 1991, succeeding Admiral Yastur-ul-Haq Malik.[6]

His tenure coincided with the imposition of the Pressler Amendment sanctions by the United States, which compelled Pakistan to return four Garcia-class frigates and four Brooke-class frigates leased from the United States Navy in 1988 at the conclusion of their five-year lease. To replace this lost capacity, Khan negotiated with First Sea Lord Admiral Sir Julian Oswald and the British government for the acquisition of the Royal Navy's remaining Type 21 frigates. The agreement, building on earlier negotiations begun under Admiral Tariq Kamal Khan in 1987–88, resulted in the transfer of six frigates between 1993 and 1995, which were subsequently reclassified in Pakistani service as the Tariq-class destroyers.[7][8]

In 1994, Khan reportedly recommended that the Pakistan Navy acquire the British Upholder-class submarine in preference to the French Agosta 90B-class. The recommendation was not adopted, and the Bhutto government proceeded with the Agosta 90B purchase from France.[9]

Ambassadorship and later life

Khan handed over command of the navy to Admiral Mansurul Haq on 9 November 1994.[10] He was subsequently appointed Pakistan's Ambassador to the Netherlands by Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and served in The Hague for approximately four years.[2]

Khan died in Islamabad on 4 December 2022, aged 87, and was buried at the H-11 Cemetery in the city.[11][12][13]

Awards and decorations

Nishan-e-Imtiaz (Military)
Order of Excellence		 Hilal-e-Imtiaz (Military)
Crescent of Excellence		 Sitara-e-Imtiaz (Military)
Star of Excellence		 Sitara-e-Basalat
Star of Good Conduct
Tamgha-e-Diffa
General Service Medal
(1965 and 1971 War clasps)		 Sitara-e-Harb 1965 War
War Star 1965		 Sitara-e-Harb 1971 War
War Star 1971		 Tamgha-e-Jang 1965 War
War Medal 1965
Tamgha-e-Jang 1971 War
War Medal 1971		 10 Years Service Medal 20 Years Service Medal 30 Years Service Medal
40 Years Service Medal Tamgha-e-Sad Saala Jashan-e-Wiladat-e-Quaid-e-Azam
100th Birth Anniversary of Muhammad Ali Jinnah (1976)		 Tamgha-e-Jamhuria
Republic Commemoration Medal (1956)		 Hijri Tamgha
Hijri Medal (1979)
Jamhuriat Tamgha
Democracy Medal (1988)		 Qarardad-e-Pakistan Tamgha
Resolution Day Golden Jubilee Medal (1990)		 Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal (1953, United Kingdom) Legion of Merit (Officer, United States)

References

  1. ↑ پاک بحریہ کے سربراہ۔ ایڈمرل سعید محمد خان (in Urdu). Pakistan Connections. Archived from the original on 24 March 2016. Retrieved 25 January 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 Khan, Shaharyar M. (28 July 2000). The Begums of Bhopal: A History of the Princely State of Bhopal. I.B. Tauris. p. 233. ISBN 9781860645280.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Anwar, Muhammad (2008). Stolen Stripes and Broken Medals: Autobiography of a Senior Naval Officer. London: AuthorHouse. p. 286. ISBN 9781425900205.
  4. ↑ Jane's Fighting Ships. Franklin Watts. 1989. ISBN 9780710608864.
  5. ↑ "Chairmen History". Pakistan National Shipping Corporation. Retrieved 29 April 2026.
  6. ↑ Cheema, Pervaiz Iqbal (2002). The Armed Forces of Pakistan. NYU Press. p. 199. ISBN 9780814716335.
  7. ↑ Shah, Mian Zahir (2001). Bubbles of Water: Or, Anecdotes of the Pakistan Navy. Karachi: PN Book Club Publication. p. 476. ISBN 9789698318031.
  8. ↑ "PNS Tariq". Clyde Naval Heritage. Retrieved 29 April 2026.
  9. ↑ "PPP govt, not Navy, purchased French subs in a deal". The News International. 11 October 2011. Retrieved 25 January 2017.
  10. ↑ Rizvi, Hasan-Askari (2000). The Military and Politics in Pakistan, 1947–1997. Lahore: Sang-e-Meel Publications. p. 330. ISBN 9789693511482.
  11. ↑ "Ex-Pakistan Navy chief Saeed Khan passes away". BOL News. 4 December 2022. Retrieved 29 April 2026.
  12. ↑ "Former Pakistan Navy chief Admiral Saeed Mohammad Khan passes away at 87". Daily Pakistan. 5 December 2022. Retrieved 29 April 2026.
  13. ↑ "Ex-Pakistan Navy chief Saeed Khan passes away". Arab News. 5 December 2022. Retrieved 29 April 2026.
This page is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.