Cadet College Petaro

Cadet College Petaro is an educational institution from grade 7 to grade 12 and also started Cambridge System of O-Level, in the southern province of Sindh in Pakistan about 20 miles (32 km) from Hyderabad. Its campus occupies over 700 acres (2.8 km²) on the west bank of the Indus River on the road from Hyderabad to Dadu, Larkana and Quetta.

History
The college was founded in August 1957 at Mirpurkhas, Sindh as a residential institution. It was established under the name of Government Cadet College Mirpurkhas. The college came into being due to the efforts of Mr. A.M. Nizamani, the then Director of Education of Hyderabad Region, and sanctioned by Mr. Muhammad Ayub Khuhro, Defence Minister of Pakistan.

The first batch of teachers joined the college on 5 August 1957 at Mirpurkhas while the college building was still under preparation. These five teachers were Mr. Abdullah Khadim Hussain, Mr. Feroz Yusuf Khan, Mr. Aziz Ahmed Farooqui, Mr. Hasan Masud Zuberi, and Mr. Syed Zahoorul Hasan. While the government had advertised for the position of Principal of the college, Mr. Mohammed Hasnain was appointed as the In Charge (Acting) Principal on August 25, 1957 for the initial few months. He was soon succeeded by Col.(retd) J.H.H. Coombes on March 20, 1958.

The first batch of 30 students joined the college on 27 August 1957 in class VIII.

In 1958, a new site was sought in order to build a permanent campus for the college. A site was chosen at Petaro, a few miles up the river from Jamshoro. The construction of a purpose built campus began almost immediately. Mr. Habib-ur-Rehman, Minister of Education, laid the foundation stone of the college on 16 January 1959. The initial cost of construction of the buildings of the college sanctioned by the government of West Pakistan was Rs. 2,700,000. The college finally moved to its new premises at Petaro in August 1959. At the time of the move, the River Indus was in flood, and Petaro was also submerged under its waters. The building in Mirpurkhas that originally housed Cadet College Petaro was given over to the Government College Mirpurkhas.

The first principal of the college was Col.(retd) J.H.H. Coombes who retired from the college in 1965. He was followed by Cdr.(retd) Firoz Shah, who remained in charge until 1972. The previous principal was Cdre. M. Abid Saleem (2000–2007).The present principal is Cdre. Muhammad Afzal

The college is a residential institution for over 900 full-time students at present, providing education from Class 8 to Class 12 (Intermediate). At the time it was first constructed, it was designed to accommodate only 360 students in four houses (or hostels). The capacity was expanded to 570 with the construction of two more houses in the late 1960s.

The year 2007 marked the fiftieth anniversary of the college. Gen. Pervez Musharraf, President of Pakistan was the chief guest at the Golden Jubilee celebrations on 28 February 2007. On this occasion, President Musharraf announced the formation of a university in the vicinity of the college that will be sponsored by the Metupak Foundation.

Academics
The main body of students is admitted each year to Class 8. Until the academic year 1998-99, the college used to admit a small contingent of boys from the rural districts of Sindh to Class 7, to prepare them for competitive success with the new entry into Class 8. However, it was decided by the Board of Governors of the college to discontinue Class 7 from 1999 onwards. All Class 7 Cadets stayed in Shahbaz House. Since the year 2000, Shahbaz house became Full-Fledge, having a similar strength of all Classes like the other houses, and started participating in all Inter-House competitions to compete for the Championship.

College students have normally secured most of the top positions in the competitive Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education, Hyderabad examinations every year.

Houses
The college is subdivided into eight (08) houses.


 * The house is currently Champion


 * The house is currently Runner-Up


 * The house homes the First Champions Trophy

Shahbaz House had been created in the year 1975, but only to board Class 7 cadets, who were taken in a year early. They were boys mostly from villages, who were taken abroad to be prepared for their up-coming tenure at the college. In the year 2000, the decision to recruit Class 7 students halted, and Shahbaz house became a full fledged house.

In the Year 2007, on the Occasion of Cadet College Petaro's Golden Jubilee, General Pervez Musharraf, who was the Chief Guest on the Occasion, announced that a new house will be constructed, which will be named Musharraf House.

For the first time ever since 1957, a House was declared the Champion house for three consecutive years (Ayub House-2007, 2008 and 2009). To honor their achievement, the Commandant/Principal decided to give the Champions Trophy permanently to the House. The trophy had been passed down within Houses for the Last 50 years. This decision was opposed by cadets of M. B. Qasim house, which subsequently replaced Ayub house as Champions in 2010. However The Commandant turned down the request, stating that the old trophy's permanent home was Ayub House.

Campus
The campus is founded near the town Petaro, which is part of the District Jamshoro. The campus is practically a small township with its own electricity, water supply, sewerage, security and other infrastructure. The campus is divided into 4 parts, which are Staff Quarters, Cadets Area, Sports Grounds and College Premises. The college also has a parade ground, which hosts the Adjutant Parade and Principal Parade.

Administration
The College is governed by an autonomous Board of Governors, headed by the Commander Karachi (COMKAR) of the Pakistan Navy as it Chairman. Since 1975, the Principal and the Adjutant of the college have been officers of the Pakistan Navy as well. Prior to be handed over to the Pakistan Navy the Pakistan Army was managing affairs and there a Pakistan Army adjutant. The handing over to the Pakistan Navy took place in 1973.

Staff infrastructure
The College is controlled and patronised by the Pakistan Navy. Since 1975, the Principal posted is at least of the rank of a serving Captain of the Navy withexperience of administration. His tenure is normally for 3 years. Likewise the Pakistan Navy provides an Adjutant of the rank of Lieutenant Commander and other training staff like Chief Petty Officers, Petty Officers and Sailors for military training of the cadets. However, the current Adjutant of the college is from Pakistan Army, namely captain GULAM RASOOL kit no(96085-j)

The College is staffed by 41 teachers (professors, assistant professors and lecturers) who have at least a Master's Degree. There are other officers like the Medical Officer, Administrative Officer, Bursar, Librarian and Office Superintendent. In addition, there are around 215 board employees and over 400 college employees.

Ex-Principals & Commandants
10

Captain SI Malik TI(M) PN

Principal

17-02-1991

11

Captain (OPS) Syed Qamar Raza

Principal

12-06-1994

12

Commodore Syed Qamar Raza TI(M)

Principal

11-12-1998

13	 	Commodore M. Abid Saleem SI(M)	Principal	21-10-2000 14

Commodore Muhammad Aslam Rana

Principal

24-05-2007

Shuhda’s
Following is the list of Petarians who died fighting for the sake of their Lord and their country Name   	Expired on	Place	Kit.No. House Lieut. Najmus Saqib Saiyid, PN	Shaheed 5/12/1971	On board PNS Khaibar off the coast of Karachi	94	Latif Major Mohammed Azam Rajput	Shaheed 10/12/1971	Chhamb	116	Jinnah Lieut. Saadat Farooq	Shaheed 26/5/1971	Chuadanga, E. Pakistan	275	Liaquat Capt. Mohammed Mahmood Afzal	Shaheed 1985	Besham, Gilgit Road, Vehicle crashed during operations	734	Qasim Mohammed Parvez Aslam	Shaheed 17/12/1971	Shakargarh	811	Ayub Ghulam Mustafa, ex-SHO, Sindh Police, Hyderabad	Shaheed 1998	In encounter with dacoits in Qasimabad, Hyderabad	7849	Qasim Capt. Asad Abbas Kazmi	Shaheed 26/3/1993	Siachin	8230	Qasim Cdr. Khawar Zaman, PN	Shaheed 1/11/1999	On board P3C Orion aircraft near Ormara	N-46	Jinnah Lieut. Muneeb Ahmed Khaki	Shaheed 1971	E. Pakistan	Y-6	Ayub

Petarians
All students and ex-students of Cadet College Petaro are known as Petarian.

The most prominent Petarian is Asif Ali Zardari who was elected as President of Pakistan in September 2008.

Alumni

 * The Petarian Association (TPA)

Founded in 1982, the Petarian Association has become the focal point of gathering for all Petarians, particularly those in Pakistan. The association is a successor of the Petaro Old Boys Association (POBA) that existed informally for a few years in the late 1960s, and then became defunct. The Petarian Association was registered under the Societies Registration Act-XXI of 1860 on the 4th of February 1982 under registration no. KAR-7210.

Over these years, the association has hosted numerous functions that provide a social meeting ground for the Petarians and their families. The Association presently has over 900 life members. All Petarians are requested to patronize the Association by becoming life members. If you would like to become a member, please contact the Association office at Fleet Club, Karachi. The Commander Karachi (COMKAR) of the Pakistan Navy (who is the Chairman Board of Governors of Cadet College Petaro) has always been invited to be the Patron-in-Chief of the Association. The Principal of Cadet College Petaro is the Patron of the Association. The Association publishes a newsletter called "Petarian News", which is circulated to its members. In addition, a souvenir is normally published once a year which provides biographical details of some prominent Petarians.

Social functions of the Association include musical nights, sports days, picnics, and gala events. These events have been crucial in bringing the families of the Petarians to know each other. The most active chapter of the Association is the one based in Karachi. In addition, the Hyderabad chapter has also been very regular in its meetings and functions. The chapters in Lahore and Islamabad have had an erratic history - having been active at different periods of time. The Islamabad chapter has been a lot more active since 2006.

In recent years, student chapters were set up at NED University, SSUET, Karachi University, and other higher education institutes. The Association funded book banks at these universities to assist the Petarian students, and organized seminars. The Petarian Association, Karachi celebrated its Silver Jubilee (25 years of existence) with Mr. Mohammedmian Soomro as the Chief Guest. The function was organized on a grand scale on 13 January 2007.

In May 2009, the Association hosted a dinner for the Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral Noman Bashir at PC, Karachi that was attended by prominent Petarians.TPA is currently going through a major transformation, where it aims to incorporate changes in its charter to convert it into a Global Alumni body of Petarians all over the world.

Notable alumni

 * Asif Ali Zardari, President of Pakistan and Co-Chairperson Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP)
 * Masood Sharif Khan Khattak, former Vice President of the PPP and the Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians.
 * Zulfiqar Mirza, Sindh Home Minister, Member of Sindh Provincial Assembly
 * Liaquat Ali Jatoi, former Federal Minister of Industries and ex-Chief Minister of Sindh
 * Arbab Ghulam Rahim, former Chief Minister of Sindh
 * Younus Changezi, former Baluchistan Minister of Forests, Environment
 * Shahid Iqbal, Chief of Staff (COS), Ex-DCNS (T&P), COMPAK, DCNS (O) and Commander CTF-150
 * Masood Sharif Khan Khattak, former Director General of the Intelligence Bureau of Pakistan (DGIB).
 * Nouraiz Shakoor, former Federal Minister, Govt of Pakistan
 * Altaf Shaikh, Marine Engineer, Writer, Pakistan Writers Guild prize winner and Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai Literary Award holder.
 * Gen (R) S.P Shahid, Pak Army
 * Aamir Ahsan Khan, Ambassador International Human Rights Commission