S. M. Anwar
{{Short description|Commodore Pakistan Navy}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}
{{Use Pakistani English|date=October 2019}}
{{Infobox military person
| honorific_prefix = Commodore
| name = Sheikh Mohammad Anwar
| honorific_suffix =
| image =
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| native_name =
| native_name_lang =
| birth_name = Shiekh Mohammad Anwar
| other_name =
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| birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1920|09|20}}
| birth_place = Lahore, Punjab, British India
{{small|(present-day Pakistan)}}
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1979|01|24|1920|09|19}}
| death_place = Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan
| placeofburial_label =
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| allegiance = {{flag icon|British India}} British India
{{small|(1941–47)}}
{{PAK}}
{{small|(1947–77)}}
| branch = {{Navy|British India}} {{flagicon image|Naval Jack of Pakistan.svg}} Pakistan Navy
| serviceyears = 1941–1977
| serviceyears_label =
| rank_label =
| servicenumber = PN No. 24
| unit = Naval Operations Branch
| commands = Commander Pakistan Fleet
Pakistan Marines
25th Destroyer Squadron
Pakistan Merchant Navy
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| battles = {{tree list}}
{{tree list/end}}
| awards = 50px Legion of Merit
50px Sitara-i-Khidmat
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}}
Commodore Sheikh Mohammad Anwar {{small|LOM, SK}} ({{langx|ur|شيخ محمد انور}} ; 19 September 1920 – 24 January 1977),{{cite web|last1=ISPR|first1=Navy|title=Pakistan Navy-Official page|url=https://www.facebook.com/PakistanNavyPage/photos/a.212188338827793.47912.211341692245791/1138129902900294/?type=3|website=www.facebook.com|publisher=ISPR (Facebook)|accessdate=19 August 2017|location=Islamabad, Pakistan|language=en-pk|date=8 September 2016}} popularly known as SM Anwar, was a Pakistani one-star rank admiral who is known for his role as officer in tactical command of the 25th Destroyer Squadron that attack and raided the radar station in Dwarka in Gujarat during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965.
Despite his feat, Anwar's accomplishment in the Navy was not well known. He died in Karachi in 1979
. It was only in the 1990s when his role as war hero was highlighted when ISPR released the telefilm of the same name of the operation. After much literary criticism by media and veterans, his achievements were recognized in 2010s.
Biography
Sheikh Mohammad Anwar was born in Lahore, Punjab, India, on 12 September 1920.{{rp|6}}{{cite book|title=Port of Karachi Magazine|date=1968|publisher=Labour Welfare Department, Karachi Port Trust.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8OZPAQAAMAAJ&q=1920|accessdate=19 August 2017|language=en}} After his matriculation, he was educated at the Forman Christian College University in Lahore, graduating in 1940.{{rp|25}}{{cite journal|title=Port of Karachi Magazine|journal=15|date=1969|volume=Port of Karachi Magazine|issue=16|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QeNPAQAAMAAJ&q=1920|accessdate=19 August 2017|publisher=Labour Welfare Department, Karachi Port Trust.|language=en}}
He joined and commissioned in the Royal Indian Navy as a Sub-Lieutenant in 1941, and briefly served in World War II's Burma theatre in 1942–43.{{rp|6–7}}{{cite book|title=Excerpts II|year = 1968|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8OZPAQAAMAAJ&q=PARBHAVATI&pg=RA1-PA6}} After the India's partition that resulted in the independence of Pakistan on 14 August 1947, Lt Anwar joined the Pakistan Navy, and was directed to attend the Naval War College in Rhodes Island, United States, in 1958.{{cite book|title=Excerpts III|year = 1968|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8OZPAQAAMAAJ&q=War+college&pg=PA60|accessdate=19 August 2017}} After graduating from the Naval War College in 1959, Cdr. Anwar served as an exchange officer in the United States Navy's surface warships for two months.{{cite book|title=Excerpts IV|date=1969|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8OZPAQAAMAAJ&q=War+college&pg=RA1-PA6|accessdate=19 August 2017}} In 1960, Cdr Anwar served as base commander for the PNS Bahadur, a training establishment.
In 1962, Capt. Anwar was appointed by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) for a diplomatic assignment, and briefly tenured as naval attaché at the Embassy of Pakistan in Washington, D.C. in the United States until 1964.{{rp|38}}{{cite book|last1=State|first1=United States Dept of|title=Diplomatic List|date=1962|publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AxIgAAAAMAAJ&q=Captain++SM+Anwar|accessdate=19 August 2017|language=en}}
In 1965, Anwar was appointed as senior fleet commander when he took over the command of the Pakistan Fleet (COMPAK).{{cite web|last1=Shabbir|first1=Usman|title=1965 War|url=http://pakdef.org/1965-war-3/|website=pakdef.org|publisher=« PakDef Military Consortium|access-date=19 August 2017|location=Karachi, Pk|language=en-pk|date=June 2003|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140330222928/http://pakdef.org/1965-war-3/|archive-date=30 March 2014}} During the second war with India in 1965, Cdre. Anwar was the officer in tactical command of the 25th Destroyer Squadron who led the attack and raid radar station used by the Indian Air Force in Dwarka, Gujarat in India.{{rp|83}}{{cite book|last1=Roy|first1=Mihir K.|title=War in the Indian Ocean|date=1995|publisher=Lancer Publishers|location=Delhi, India|isbn=9781897829110|pages=290|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Tqr8r7EB18wC&q=commodore+SM+Anwar&pg=PA83|accessdate=19 August 2017|language=en-gb|chapter-format=google books|chapter=Trumps and Aces}}
In 1968, the United States honoured him with their highest military award, the Legion of Merit, presented by then-U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan Eugene Locke.{{rp|39}}{{cite book|title=Illustrated Weekly of Pakistan|date=1966|publisher=Pakistan Herald Publications|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f3ccAQAAMAAJ&q=Commodore+SM+Anwar+legion|accessdate=19 August 2017|language=en}}{{rp|25}}{{cite book|title=Excerpt VI|date=1968|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QeNPAQAAMAAJ&q=legion&pg=PA25}} In 1969, he was appointed as chairman of Karachi Port Trust which he remained until 1970.{{cite book|title=Port of Karachi Magazine|date=1969|publisher=Labour Welfare Department, Karachi Port Trust.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QeNPAQAAMAAJ&q=SM+Anwar+|accessdate=19 August 2017|language=en}}
In 1971, Cdre. Anwar served in the command of the Marines Corps for a short period, and was later appointed as commandant of the Pakistan Marine Academy until 1975.{{cite web|last1=Khawaja|first1=Hammad|title=Pakistan Marine Academy|url=http://www.macoba.org/?author=1|website=www.macoba.org|publisher=Pakistan Marine Academy|accessdate=19 August 2017}}
Despite his role and heroic feats in 1965 war, his role in the Navy was less known and was hardly recognised in the Navy.{{cite news|last1=Anwar|first1=Omar|title='The forgotten hero'|url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1208763|accessdate=19 August 2017|work=DAWN.COM|agency=Dawn newspapers|publisher=Dawn newspapers, 2015|date=23 September 2015|location=Karachi|language=en-pk}} He was unknown to the public, and it was not until 1990s when the ISPR highlighted his role as a war hero when releasing the telefilm bearing the same name of operation that was aired on the STN; his role was played by Talat Hussain in the 1990s.{{cite web|title=Operation Dwarka|url=http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x358cbb|website=Dailymotion|publisher=ISPR Films|accessdate=19 August 2017|date=7 September 2015|orig-year=1993}}
His death also went unnoticed in 1977, and it was only in 2016, when the Pakistan Navy officially recognised his services on their official page on Facebook.
References
{{Reflist|2}}
{{Military of Pakistan}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Anwar, S. M.}}
Category:Military personnel from Lahore
Category:Forman Christian College alumni
Category:Royal Indian Navy officers
Category:Indian military personnel of World War II
Category:Naval War College alumni
Category:Pakistan Navy officers
Category:Military personnel of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965