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{{Short description|Pakistani naval captain}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox military person
| name =Zafar Muhammad Khan
| image =Crdr,ZafarMuhammadKhan.jpg
| image_size =200
| caption =Commander Zafar M. Khan, 1965.
| birth_date =
| death_date = 4 December 1971
| placeofburial_label =
| placeofburial =
| birth_place =[[Karachi]], [[Sindh|Sindh province]], [[British Indian Empire]]
| death_place =[[Visakhapatnam]] ([[Bay of Bengal]]), India
| placeofburial_coordinates = 
| nickname =Commander Zafar
| birth_name =Zafar Muhammad Khan
| allegiance ={{PAK}}
| branch =[[File:Naval Jack of Pakistan.svg|23px]] [[Pakistan Navy]]
| serviceyears =1956-1971
| rank =[[Commander (rank)|Commander]]
| servicenumber =PN No. 643{{Citation needed|date=August 2022}}
| unit =[[Pakistan Navy|Submarine Service Branch]]
| commands =[[PNS Ghazi|PNS Ghazi Submarine]]
| battles =[[Indo-Pakistani War of 1965]]<br />[[Operation Dwarka]]<br />[[Indo-Pakistani War of 1971]]<br />[[Sinking of PNS Ghazi|Operation Falcon]]
| battles_label =
| awards =[[File:Sitara Jurat Ribbon.gif|25px]] [[Sitara-e-Jurat]] (1965)<br />[[File:Hilal-Jurat Ribbon.gif|25px]] [[Hilal-i-Jur'at]] (1971)
| relations =
| laterwork =
}}
[[Commander]] '''Zafar Muhammad Khan''' (death: 4 December 1971) was a [[naval officer]] in the [[Pakistan Navy]] who was the [[Captain (naval)|Captain]] and [[Commanding Officer]] of {{ship|PNS|Ghazi||6}} during the [[Indo-Pakistani War of 1971]]. The PNS Ghazi was sunk under mysterious circumstances while on a reconnaissance mine-laying mission in the approaches to the Indian port of Vishakapatnum (Bay of Bengal) and sank at about 00:10 hours. A total of 93 men, including 11 commissioned officers, and 82 non-commissioned officers lost their lives. In 1971, he was one of the naval officers who were posthumously awarded [[Hilal-i-Jur'at]] for their actions.

==Naval career==
Khan graduated from [[Karachi University]] with a [[Bachelor of Science|B.Sc.]] in [[Electrical engineering]] in 1956.{{Citation needed|date=August 2022}} He gained a commission in the Pakistan Navy in 1956, and was sent to [[Britannia Royal Naval College]] at Dartmouth to take the General Naval Course (GNC). He began his active duty in 1960 when he graduated from there. He briefly served in PNS Ghazi as an Electrical Engineer Officer (EEO), and actively participated in [[Indo-Pakistani War of 1965]]. He then participated and also served as a torpedo officer (TO) in [[Operation Dwarka]] on 7 September 1965. After the war, he taught electrical engineering courses as an [[Associate professor]] at the [[Pakistan Navy Engineering College]]. He was promoted [[Lieutenant Commander]] in 1967, and finally promoted Commander in 1971.

Four days later, he became a commanding officer of the PNS Ghazi. In late 1971, the political crisis and tensions between [[East Pakistan|East]] and [[West Pakistan]] were heightened. Naval Intelligence (Pakistan Navy) realised that Indian intervention in Pakistan's affairs was inevitable. Sensing a deteriorating military scenario with the move of [[Aircraft of the Indian Navy|Indian aircraft carrier]] {{INS|Vikrant|1961|6}} close to East Pakistan, the Pakistan Navy launched a covert [[reconnaissance mission]] codenamed "Operation Falcon". It was followed by deploying PNS Ghazi around the Indian peninsula from the Arabian Sea to the Bay of Bengal. {{ship|PNS| Hangor|S131|6}} was deployed near the coast of West Pakistan under the command of Captain [[Ahmed Tasnim]].

In the night of 14 November 1971, PNS Ghazi sailed out of harbour under the command of Commander Zafar Muhammad Khan with 92 men on board. It was expected to report back to its home base on 26 November 1971. According to Naval Intelligence, two different missions were assigned to PNS Ghazi. Copies of the missions were handed over to Commander Khan, marked "Top Secret".{{Citation needed|date=August 2022}} The Operation's Commander had instructed Commander Zafar Khan not to open the files until PNS Ghazi approached Visakhapatnam port.

Prior to her deployment, Ghazi continued to experience equipment failures and reportedly had aging issues. Since it was the only submarine of the Pakistan Navy and had the range and capability to undertake operations in the distant waters controlled by India, Ghazi was pressed into operation to destroy or damage the aircraft carrier, INS Vikrant, of the [[Indian navy]].<ref name="autogenerated179">Till, Geoffrey (2004). Seapower: a guide for the twenty-first century. Great Britain: Frank Cass Publishers. p. 179. {{ISBN|0-7146-8436-8}}. Retrieved 2010-05-28.</ref> On 14 November 1971, she quietly sailed 3,000 miles (4,800 km) around the Indian peninsula from the Arabian Sea to the Bay of Bengal under the command of Zafar Muhammad who was commanding a submarine for the first time, with 10 officers and 82 sailors.<ref name="wwiiafterwwii">{{cite web|last1=wwiiafterwwii|title=Last voyage of PNS Ghazi 1971|website=wwiiafterwwii|publisher=wwiiafterwwii|date=24 December 2015|url=https://wwiiafterwwii.wordpress.com/2015/12/24/last-voyage-of-pns-ghazi-1971/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161119064646/https://wwiiafterwwii.wordpress.com/2015/12/24/last-voyage-of-pns-ghazi-1971/|archive-date=2016-11-19|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Usman|first1=Tariq|title=The Ghazi That Defied The Indian Navy «|url=http://pakdef.org/the-ghazi-that-defied-the-indian-navy/|website=pakdef.org|publisher=PakDef Military Consortium|access-date=19 November 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170308223346/http://pakdef.org/the-ghazi-that-defied-the-indian-navy/|archive-date=8 March 2022}}</ref> Ghazi was on a two-fold mission: the primary goal was to locate and sink Vikrant and secondary was to mine India's eastern seaboard which was to be fulfilled irrespective of the accomplishment of the first.<ref name="wwiiafterwwii"/>

The PNS Ghazi had achieved the first objectives by laying the mines. On 23 November, as part of second assignment, PNS Ghazi under Commander Khan began to look for INS Vikrant. The mysterious [[PNS Ghazi|sinking of Ghazi]] took place on 4 December 1971 during its hunt to find INS Vikrant and/or during the minelaying mission on the [[Visakhapatnam Port]], Bay of Bengal. The cause of the sinking is still unknown, and Indian and Pakistani sources have different views. Indian officials claim that Indian navy was responsible for sinking of PNS Ghazi. However, both the neutral sources and Indian military officials have rejected the Indian version on sinking of PNS Ghazi. Pakistani officials state that PNS Ghazi suffered an internal explosion while it was laying mines. The internal explosion was the cause of sinking of the submarine.

In 2003, the Indian Navy again sent its divers to overlook its investigation and the divers recovered some items including the [[War diary|war logs]], officials [[Backup validation|backup]] tapes from her computers, and mission files that were displaced in [[Eastern Naval Command]] of Indian Navy, but the divers who studied the wreckage confirmed that the submarine must have suffered an internal explosion which blew up its mines and torpedoes.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tribuneindia.com/2002/20020721/spectrum/main2.htm |title=Naval museums give glimpse of maritime history |author=Trilochan Singh Trewn |date=21 July 2002 |work=The Tribune |access-date=16 May 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930061104/http://www.tribuneindia.com/2002/20020721/spectrum/main2.htm |archive-date=2007-09-30 |url-status=live }}</ref> Another theory suggests an explosion of [[hydrogen gas]] which violently built up inside the submarine while its batteries were being charged underwater.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Unnithan|first1=Sandeep|title=New pictures of 1971 war Pak submarine Ghazi renew debate on cause behind blast on vessel|url=http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/new-pictures-of-1971-war-pak-submarine-ghazi-renew-debate-on-cause-behind-blast-on-vessel/1/196709.html|access-date=18 November 2016|agency=India Today|publisher=India Today, 2003|date=26 January 2004|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170619171124/http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/new-pictures-of-1971-war-pak-submarine-ghazi-renew-debate-on-cause-behind-blast-on-vessel/1/196709.html|archive-date=19 June 2022}}</ref>

In 2010, [[Lieutenant-General]] [[JFR Jacob|J.F.R Jacob]] of [[Eastern Command (India)|Eastern Command]] mentioned in an article that "''Ghazi'' was destroyed in an accident in which [[Indian Navy]] was not involved. There were many opinions from authors of the Indian side who also shared this skepticism of the Indian Navy’s official stance."<ref name="The Express Tribune, 2012 Mulki">{{cite news|last1=Mulki|first1=Muhammad Abid|title=Warriors of the waves|url=http://tribune.com.pk/story/383024/warriors-of-the-waves/|access-date=23 November 2016|work=The Express Tribune|agency=The Express Tribune|publisher=The Express Tribune, 2012 Mulki|date=27 May 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161124024723/http://tribune.com.pk/story/383024/warriors-of-the-waves/|archive-date=2016-11-24|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2010, it was reported that Indian navy had destroyed all records of sinking Ghazi submarine. Vice admiral G M Hiranandani who was tasked with writing the official history of the navy. He stated that he was unable to obtain any old files regarding PNS Ghazi sinking. Those old files were destroyed. One of the retired navy officer who saw action in 1971 claims that the destruction of the Ghazi papers and those of army in [[Kolkata]] depicts the many instances when Indian war history has been delibarelty falsified. He further stated that 'We have enough heroes. In fog of war, many myth and false hero may have been created and many left unsung'.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://m.timesofindia.com/india/Now-no-record-of-Navy-sinking-Pakistani-submarine-in-1971/amp_articleshow/5919209.cms|title=Now no record of navy sinking Pakistani submarine in 1971|publisher=Times of India|access-date= 12 May 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181007202704/https://m.timesofindia.com/india/Now-no-record-of-Navy-sinking-Pakistani-submarine-in-1971/amp_articleshow/5919209.cms|archive-date=7 October 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Personal life==
Zafar married Lalarukh Zafar on December 1964 and had one son named Sameer Zafar Khan.{{Citation needed|date = September 2022}}

==Media==
The Pakistan Navy has paid tribute to Commander Zafar and the crew of PNS Ghazi by establishing monuments of the fallen officers. In 1996, a dramatization of PNS Ghazi, as P''NS Ghazi (Shaheed)'', was filmed, and it was financed and produced by [[Inter Services Public Relations|ISPR]] of the [[Pakistan Armed Forces|Pakistan Defense Forces]]. It was here that the Pakistan Navy first outlined the naval career of Commander Zafar Muhammad Khan and other officers. A well-known Pakistani actor, Shabbir Jan, portrayed the life and career of Commander Zafar Muhammad Khan.

==Honours==
*''PNS Zafar'': Named after Commander Zafar Muhammad Khan (Shaheed). The establishment was commissioned on 15 March 1974, and serves as the depot for all Pakistan Navy personnel stationed at Islamabad.{{Citation needed|date=August 2022}}
*''Zafar Chowk'': Named after Commander Zafar Muhammad Khan (shaheed). In order to perpetuate his memory, the naval and Islamabad municipal authorities have named the road crossing which gives access to Naval Residential Area in Islamabad "''Zafar Chowk''".{{Citation needed|date=August 2022}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Military of Pakistan}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Khan, Zafar Muhammad}}
[[Category:Pakistan Navy officers]]
[[Category:People of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971|Tasnim, Capt. Comdr Ahmed]]
[[Category:Submarine commanders]]
[[Category:Year of birth missing]]
[[Category:University of Karachi alumni]]
[[Category:Graduates of Britannia Royal Naval College]]
[[Category:Pakistani military engineers]]
[[Category:1971 deaths]]
[[Category:Muhajir people]]
[[Category:Pakistani military personnel killed in action]]

Zafar Muhammad Khan - Revision history

Bot at 19:42, 4 November 2022

Bot at 19:42, 4 November 2022