Vice Admiral Amjad Khan Niazi appointed as new naval chief

President Arif Alvi approved the appointment of Vice Admiral Muhammad Amjad Khan Niazi as the new chief of naval staff.

The CONS-designate would assume command of Pakistan Navy on October 7 where the outgoing CNS Admiral Zafar Mahmood Abbasi would relinquish his command on completion of his tenure.

The change of command ceremony would be held at PNS ZAFAR in Islamabad.

According to the press release, Vice Admiral Muhammad Amjad Khan Niazi was commissioned in Operations Branch of the Pakistan Navy in 1985 and won the coveted Sword of Honour upon completion of initial training at Pakistan Naval Academy.

The CONS-designate has served on various command and staff appointments during his service.

“His command appointments of the admiral include command of two Type 21 ships PNS BADR and PNS TARIQ, Commander 18thDestroyer Squadron, Commandant PNS BAHADUR, Commandant Pakistan Navy War College/ Commander Central Punjab Lahore, Commander Pakistan Fleet and Commander Karachi,” according to communiqué.

“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. Currently, the Admiral is serving as Chief of Staff (Operations) at Naval Headquarters, Islamabad,” the press release added.

The admiral is also a graduate of Army Command & Staff College Quetta and National Defence University Islamabad. He holds Masters Degree in Underwater Acoustics from Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, China, the press release stated.

In recognition of his meritorious services, the admiral had been awarded Hilal-e-Imtiaz (Military) and Sitara-e- Basalat. He was also conferred with the French Medal Chevalier (Knight) by the Government of France.