A ceremony was held this morning to mark Admiral Amjad Khan Niazi’s elevation as Chief of Naval Staff of the Pakistan Navy. The change of command ceremony was held at PNS Zafar, Islamabad where Admiral Zafar Mahmood Abbasi symbolically handed over command of the Pakistan Navy to the new naval chief.
President Dr Arif Alvi on Wednesday appointed Vice Admiral Muhammad Amjad Khan Niazi as Chief of the Naval Staff and promoted him to the rank of Admiral. A guard of honour was also presented to the outgoing and incoming naval chiefs at the ceremony.
Vice Admiral Muhammad Amjad Khan Niazi will succeed Admiral Zafar Mahmood who will relinquish the command of Pakistan Navy on October 7. His promotion to the rank of Admiral will be effective from the date of assuming command of Pakistan Navy.
Admiral Niazi was commissioned in the Operations Branch of Pakistan Navy in 1985 and won the coveted Sword of Honour upon completion of initial training at the Pakistan Naval Academy. The new naval chief has also served on various command and staff appointments.
Read more: Pakistan celebrates Navy Day to pay tribute to 1965 war heroes
His command appointments include command of two Type-21 ships, PNS Badr and PNS Tariq; Commander of the 18th Destroyer Squadron; Commandant PNS Bahadur; Commandant Pakistan Navy War College; Commander Central Punjab Lahore; Commander Pakistan Fleet and Commander Karachi. Additionally, his distinguished staff appointments include Principal Secretary to Chief of the Naval Staff, Head of F-22P Mission China, Deputy Chief of Naval Staff (Training & Evaluation) and Director-General Naval Intelligence.
Admiral’s Background
Adm Niazi is a graduate of the Army Command and Staff College, Quetta and the National Defence University Islamabad. The admiral also holds a Master’s Degree in Underwater Acoustics from the Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, China. Presently, he is serving as Chief of Staff (Operations) at Naval Headquarters, Islamabad.
Vice Admiral Muhammad Amjad Khan Niazi is a recipient of the Hilal-e-Imtiaz (Military) (the Crescent of Distinction) and the Sitara-e-Basalat (Star of Good Conduct). He has also been conferred the French Medal Chevalier (Knight) by the Government of France.
Read more: Decorated Vice Admiral Ajmad Khan Niazi to be new naval chief: report
Admiral Amjad Khan Niazi was commissioned in the Operations Branch of Pakistan Navy in 1985. Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Zafar Mahmood Abbasi paid his farewell call to Prime Minister Imran Khan in Islamabad on Monday. In the meeting, the premier thanked the outgoing naval chief for his services to the nation during a long and brilliant career.
Read more: Pakistan Navy’s locally built submarine: A threat to India
In his farewell address, outgoing naval chief Admiral Zafar Mahmood Abbasi, congratulated Admiral Amjad Khan Niazi over assuming charge of the PN. Per Geo News, Admiral Abbasi said he was proud that he was given the honour of defending Pakistan and leading the charge of the navy. He said the naval force of today is fully capable to defend the motherland and thwart nefarious designs against the country.
https://twitter.com/dgprPaknavy/status/1313066162595520514?s=20
The news channel further revealed that Admiral Zafar had said that during his tenure, he focused on improving professional capabilities of the Navy. PNS Yarmook has been inducted in the Pakistan Navy while PNS Haibat will become part of the force at the end of 2020. He further said that Pakistan Navy participated in several exercises in 2018 and with the cooperation of China, steps are being taken for the establishment of an economic zone.