Iftikhar Ahmed Sirohey

Admiral Iftikhar Ahmed Sirohey (; 1934 – 6 March 2025) was a Pakistani four-star-rank admiral, strategist, and a memoirist who was at the time of his death tenuring his fellowship at the Institute of Strategic Studies (ISS) in Islamabad, Pakistan.

Admiral Sirohey had previously tenured as the Chief of Naval Staff (CNS) of the Pakistan Navy from 1986 to 1988, and later ascended as the 6th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee from 1988 until retiring in 1991. He was only the second four-star admiral in the Navy's history to be appointed Chairman Joint Chiefs.

After his retirement, he joined academia after accepting to be inducted in the faculty of the Sustainable Development Policy Institute and was working as a strategist for the Institute of Strategic Studies at the time when he died. He also authored his autobiography, Truth Never Retires, in 1996 which was published by the Jang Publishers in Lahore.

Biography Early life and education

Iftikhar Ahmed Sirohey was born in Karnal, a small town, in East Punjab, British India, in 1935. He hailed from a Punjabi family who were the local farmers in Karnal in East Punjab who moved to Muslim-majority West Punjab in 1940.

The family later moved to Karachi after the independence of Pakistan in 1947.

In 1970, he was posted in East Pakistan as military adviser to East Pakistan Rifles but was later directed to the United Kingdom for a diplomatic/defence assignment.

After the war, he was promoted as Commander and served as Naval Secretary at the Navy NHQ in Rawalpindi to the Chief of Naval Staff which he remained from 1972 to 1973. In 1975–76, Sirohey was appointed naval attaché and served in the High Commission of Pakistan in London, United Kingdom.

Upon returning to Pakistan in 1976, Capt. Sirohey was appointed to serve as a Director of Naval Warfare and Operations (DNWO) under COMKAR, where he served until 1978.

Personal life and death Sirohey was married, and had four sons; Saad, Asad, Samad and Fahd.

Chief of Naval Staff On 8 April 1986, President Zia-ul-Haq announced the appointment of Vice-Admiral Sirohey as a four-star-rank admiral and as the new Chief of Naval Staff in a place of retiring Admiral Tariq Kamal Khan. Before his four-star appointment was confirmed, he was in a race with Vice-Admiral Ahmad Zamir who had initially been appointed to the post but suddenly died of a heart attack before Vice-Admiral Zamir was notified about the promotion.

He was the most senior admiral in the Navy; therefore, he superseded no one in the Navy. For that purpose in 1987, he went and visited the United States and the Pentagon to hold defence procurement talks with the United States military.

In 1987, the United States agreed to the transfer of eight Brooke-Garcia class surface warships and a repair ship to the Pakistan Navy on a five-year lease under a Foreign Military Sales programme in 1988. Admiral Sirohey also oversaw the introduction of installing imported Harpoon missiles on its frigates as early as 1988. He also engaged in procuring the P-3C Orion aircraft for the Navy but they weren't delivered until 1996.

Admiral Sirohey backed Chief of Army Staff General Mirza Aslam Beg's decision to restore democratic rule after President Zia-ul-Haq's death in 1988. He endorsed Chairman Senate Ghulam Ishaq Khan's bid for Acting President and witnessed the general elections held in 1988 that saw Benazir Bhutto become the Prime Minister while forming the government in 1988. Admiral Sirohey was the most senior four-star officer in the military and superseded no one. However, it was revealed by an historian that Shamkhani directly demanded the "hand over of the nuclear bombs" as part of the promise made by the former president. However, the claim of this meeting cannot be verified as Razaei later confessed that Admiral Sirohey did not recall the meeting "or ever hearing about a deal to sell nuclear weapons to Iran." In 1989, Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto controversially signed retirement papers and relieved him of command of the military in order to bring up army chief General Beg in his place. This move was seen as a political move and Benazir Bhutto's attempt to control the military through army and loyalist officers and was said to be a direct attack on the military by the political leader.

The retirement papers were deemed null and ineffective when Ghulam Ishaq Khan confirmed that Admiral Sirohey would complete his term until 1991 and handled the matters very efficiently. Admiral Sirohey became supportive of Ghulam Ishaq Khan's dismissal of Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto in 1990, and witnessed the inauguration of Nawaz Sharif as the prime minister.

Retirement On 8 November 1991, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif nominated General Shamim Alam as the next Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee and was confirmed by President Ghulam Ishaq. He was also the author of his autobiography, Truth Never Retires (1996) Jang Publishers, Lahore.

Awards and decorations

Nishan-e-Imtiaz (Military)

(Order of Excellence)Hilal-e-Imtiaz (Military)

(Crescent of Excellence)Sitara-e-Basalat (Star of Good Conduct)Tamgha-e-Diffa (General Service Medal)

Rann of Kutch ClaspSitara-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 Wiladat-e-Quaid-e-Azam

(100th Birth Anniversary of

Muhammad Ali Jinnah)

1976Tamgha-e-Jamhuria (Republic Commemoration Medal)

1956Hijri Tamgha (Hijri Medal)

1979Jamhuriat Tamgha (Democracy Medal)

1988Qarardad-e-Pakistan Tamgha (Resolution Day

Golden Jubilee Medal)

1990National Order of Merit (Grand Officer)

(France)Bintang Jalasena Utama (Indonesia)Order of King Abdul Aziz (1st Class)

(Saudi Arabia)The Legion of Merit

(Degree of Commander)

(US)Tong il Order of National Security Merit

(South Korea)Order of the Crown (Knight Grand Cross)

(Thailand)

Foreign decorations Foreign awardsNational Order of Merit (Grand Officer)Bintang Jalasena UtamaOrder of King Abdul Aziz (1st Class)The Legion of Merit (Degree of Commander)Tong il (Order of National Security Merit)Order of the Crown (Knight Grand Cross)