Muhammad Zakaullah
Muhammad Zakaullah is a retired admiral in the Pakistan Navy, who was the 20th Chief of Naval Staff of the Pakistan Navy. He was succeeded by Admiral Zafar Mahmood Abbasi.
He is noted for his sportsmanship, having represented Pakistan at the Olympics for a sailing class category and being a gold medallist at the 1990 Asian Games, for which he is a recipient of a national honor.
As naval chief, Admiral Zakaullah is noted for revolutionizing the role of the navy, emphasizing the role of the navy in economic corridor with China and took initiatives to strengthened ties with the Turkish Navy. He also played an active role in establishing the very low frequency facility to provide communications with the submarines as well as ensuring the second-strike capability by commissioning the cruise missile system in the strategic command of the Navy.
Biography
Early life and career in Navy
Muhammad Zakaullah was born in Lyalpur in Punjab, Pakistan on 10 January 1958 to a Jat family. After graduating from Cadet College Hasan Abdal, he joined the Pakistan Navy in 1975 where he was sent to join the Pakistan Naval Academy, graduating at the top of his class, he was conferred with the coveted Sword of Honour and awarded the chief of the naval staff gold medal at his graduation. Sub-Lieutenant Zakaullah gained commission in the Operations Branch, and was sent to United Kingdom for his training and education later in his career.He did his military training from the Royal Naval Staff College, and later attended the London University where he gained MA in Defence studies. He also attended and graduated from the Quaid-e-Azam University, having attained an MSc in War Studies.
Upon returning to Pakistan, he joined the faculty of National Defence University to teach war studies.
War and staff appointments
Zakaullah qualified as a surface officer from the United Kingdom, serving first on the Babur which he later commanded as Commander. He also served as a military attaché at the Pakistan Embassy, Doha in Qatar. Captain Zakaullah served as the Directing Staff at the Pakistan Naval War College before taken as secondment by the President Musharraf.From 1999 till 2003, Commodore Zakaullah served as the Director-General of the National Accountability Bureau, before taking over the command of the 25th Destroyer Squadron. His other command appointments included his role as Chief Inspector of Naval Police and military secretary to Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz for a short period of time. Rear-Admiral Zakaullah also commanded the CTF–150 in Arabian Sea to guard off operations on Somalian piracy.
At the Naval Headquarters, he was appointed as ACNS (Plans), DCNS (Training and Personnel), and DCNS (Operation).
Vice-Admiral Zakaullah's last war assignment included command of the Pakistan Fleet as its senior commander.
At the height of border escalation with India, he reportedly responded to the media that Pakistan had the ability to respond to any disturbance of border.
In an emergency address to the media representatives at the ISPR directorate, he quoted to the media that "Pakistan forces are prepared for any critical situation." Answering the question of Indian Army's capabilities, Admiral Zakaullah said that Pakistan was not concerned by New Delhi's ground capability as it had the ability to defend itself against any aggression.