Haji Mohammad Siddiq Choudri

Vice Admiral Haji Mohammad Siddiq Choudri HPk MBE (usually shortened to HMS Choudri; 1912 – 27 February 2004) was the second Commander-in-Chief of the Pakistan Navy serving from 1953 to 1959. He was also the first Muslim and native naval chief taking the reins from Rear Admiral James Wilfred Jefford. He died on 27 February 2004 and was buried in Army Graveyard, Karachi with full military honors.

Education
Choudhri was born in Batala, British Punjab in 1912, where he did his education from there. In 1922, he joined the Panjab University, Chandigarh where he did his B.Sc. in Chemistry in 1926. HMS Choudhri joined the Royal Indian Navy in 1931 and got commission in the Executive cadet on September 1, 1933. After partition, he was transferred to the Royal Pakistan Navy as Captain on August 15, 1945.

Naval career
He was the senior most Pakistani officer in the Executive branch of the Royal Pakistan Navy (RPN) at that time and was an obvious choice as the successor to Admiral Jefford. Admiral Choudhri took over the command of the Royal Pakistan Navy on January 31, 1953. During his service as Commander-in-Chief, Admiral Choudhri made enthusiastic efforts to build up the Pakistan Navy which produced tangible results, including a seagoing fleet, training establishments and complementary infrastructure ashore. With his dedication and conviction, he steered the Pakistan Navy into becoming an efficient fighting force. That is why he can rightly be called Father of Pakistan Navy.

Admiral Choudhri took early retirement on March 1, 1959 due to his differences with the then government on issues relating to development of Pakistan Navy. He handed over the command to Vice-Admiral A.R. Khan.

Post-Retirement
After retirement, Admiral Choudhri spearheaded the Pakistan Institute of Maritime Affairs and made all-out efforts to enhance maritime development of Pakistan. Meanwhile, the Pakistan Senior Citizens Association (PSCA) expressed profound grief over the sad demise of Vice-Admiral HMS Choudhri, who was also the chief patron of the PSCA.

Honours
Admiral HMS Choudhri was a recipient of Hilal-e-Pakistan and was a member of the Order of the British Empire for meritorious services in the field of Command and Administration of maritime assets and a distinguished service in the Pakistan Navy spanning over three decades.