Hasan Hafeez Ahmed

Hasan Hafeez Ahmed (1926 — 10 March 1975), better known as H. H. Ahmed, was a Pakistan Navy officer who served as the first Chief of Naval Staff of the Pakistan Navy from March 1972 until his death in office in March 1975. He was appointed by President Zulfikar Ali Bhutto following the dismissal of the previous Commander-in-Chief, Vice-Admiral Muzaffar Hassan.

Early life and education Hasan Hafeez Ahmed was born in 1926 in Multan. He was educated locally and was a contemporary of Polly Shah, who later joined the Pakistan Air Force.

After completing school in 1943, Ahmed enlisted in the Royal Indian Navy as a petty officer and saw service in World War II.

Chief of Naval Staff Following Pakistan's defeat in the 1971 war, the War Enquiry Commission led to the dismissal on 3 March 1972 of the three service chiefs, including the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy, Vice-Admiral Muzaffar Hassan. On 20 March 1972, the title of Commander-in-Chief was redesignated as Chief of Naval Staff, and Ahmed was appointed to the post by President Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. The appointment passed over five more senior officers — three rear admirals and two commodores — who had been concurrently dismissed from the service.

As Chief of Naval Staff, Ahmed was tasked with rebuilding the Pakistan Navy following the loss of its eastern command and the destruction of significant assets in the 1971 conflict. He oversaw the establishment of the Pakistan Naval Air Arm in 1974, transforming the navy into a three-dimensional force, and supervised the relocation of the Naval Headquarters to Islamabad in 1973 to facilitate joint operations with the Army General Headquarters in Rawalpindi. Ahmed was the first of three Pakistani service chiefs to die in office, the others being General Asif Nawaz (Chief of Army Staff, 1993) and Air Chief Marshal Mushaf Ali Mir (Chief of Air Staff, 2003).