Shahid Karimullah

Admiral Shahid Karimullah (born: February 14, 1948; Urdu: شاهد كريمالله ; TI(M), SI(M), HI(M), NI(M), SJ), is a retired four-star admiral who served as the Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), commanded Pakistan Navy from 2002 to 2005.

He is one of the most decorated military officer of the Pakistan Defense Forces who later served as Pakistan's ambassador to Saudi Arabia from October 2005 to May 2009. On both the occasions, Karimullah was preceded by Admiral Abdul Aziz Mirza.

Naval career
Admiral Karimullah's family belongs to Hyderabad Deccan and he is a son of (late) Lieutenant Commander Mohammed Karimullah. He was commissioned in Pakistan Navy's operations branch in 1968 after undergoing training as a communication specialist. Admiral Shahid Karimullah is a graduate of the United States Naval War College, and Pakistan National Defence College.

Command and staff appointments
Admiral Karimullah commanded two destroyers, the 25th Destroyer Squadron and the Pakistan Fleet. He fought the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 while commanding a gunboat in erstwhile East Pakistan where he was seriously wounded in action and awarded Sitara-i-Jurat for exceptional gallantry.

His major staff appointments include Additional Secretary of Ministry of Defence, Deputy Chief of Naval Staff (Operations) and Director Signals at the Naval Headquarters. He has also served as Chief Staff Officer to the Commander Pakistan Fleet and Directing Staff at the National Defence College. He was promoted to the rank of Vice Admiral while holding the appointment of Commander Pakistan Fleet (COMPAK).

Chief of Naval Staff
Upon ascension to Chief of Naval Staff in 2002, Karimullah superseded at least one senior officer Vice Admiral Taj Muhammad Khattak who was the Vice Chief of Naval Staff (VCNS). He was replaced by Admiral Afzal Tahir as the naval chief when he was due to retire in 2005. Karimullah himself replaced the former naval chief Admiral Abdul Aziz Mirza when he took over as Pakistani ambassador to Saudi Arabia in 2005. He vacated the ambassadorship in May 2009.

Besides, Sitara-i-Jurat, Karimullah is a recipient of Sitara-i-Imtiaz (Military), Hilal-i-Imtiaz (Military), and Nishan-i-Imtiaz (Military). In addition, he was decorated with French Légion d'honneur (Legion of Honour) on 13 July 2005 "for promoting Pakistan-French naval collaboration in various fields at different posts he held during his service career, including induction of French submarines and aircraft in Pakistan Navy."