Admiral Naveed appointed naval chief

ISLAMABAD: The president has appointed Vice Admiral Naveed Ashraf as the new Chief of Naval Staff and elevated him to the rank of Admiral, a Pakistan Navy spokesman announced on Tuesday.

The newly-appointed Chief of Naval Staff will officially assume the rank of Admiral on October 7. He will also take charge from the outgoing Naval Chief Admiral Amjad Khan Niazi during the change of command ceremony scheduled for the same day.

The president’s decision to appoint Vice Admiral Naveed Ashraf the Naval Chief was made following the recommendation of the caretaker prime minister, who selected him from among five vice admirals.

Vice Admiral Naveed Ashraf, currently serving as the Chief of Staff at Naval Headquarters, holds the highest seniority among the three-star officers in the Pakistan Navy.

Vice Admiral Naveed Ashraf boasts extensive experience in significant command and staff roles. He has previously served as the Commander of the Pakistan Fleet and as Commandant of the Pakistan Naval Academy.

He has also held positions as the Deputy Chief of Naval Staff for Operations, Deputy Chief of Naval Staff for Training and Personnel, Deputy Chief of Naval Staff for Administration, and Deputy President of the National Defence University.

Throughout his illustrious naval career, Vice Admiral Naveed Ashraf has undertaken various command and staff appointments. He has commanded a gun boat, a mine hunter, three destroyers, and led the 25th and 18th Destroyer Squadrons.

Vice Admiral Naveed Ashraf also served as the Commandant of Pakistan Naval Academy and had the privilege of commanding the Pakistan Navy Fleet.

His notable staff roles include Fleet Operations Officer at the HQ Commander Pakistan Fleet, Captain Training at HQ Flag Officer Sea Training, Chief Staff Officer to Task Force-151 at HQ NAVCENT Bahrain, Deputy President of the National Defence University, Naval Secretary, Director General C4I, Deputy Chief of Naval Staff for Training and Personnel and Deputy Chief of Naval Staff for Operations.

The newly-appointed Naval Chief is a graduate of the Pakistan Navy War College, Lahore, National Defence University Islamabad, Naval Staff College in the US, and Royal College of Defence Studies in the UK.

In recognition of his outstanding services, he has been honoured with the Hilal-i-Imtiaz (Military) and Tamgha-e-Basalat awards.