Afzal Tahir Admiral Muhammad Afzal Tahir , ( Urdu : محمد افظل طاهر ; born 4 January 1949 ; NI ( M ) ) is a retired four - star rank admiral and the former Chief of Naval Staff ( CNS ) of Pakistan Navy from October 2005 till October 2008 . His four = star appointment came in effect after the retirement of Admiral Shahid Karimullah in 2005 and was succeeded by newly appointment Admiral Noman Bashir on October 2008 . Tahir took over the command of Pakistan Navy from Admiral Shahid Karimullah on 7 October 2005 , after Karimullah ended his three - year Naval chief tenure . On promotion , Admiral Tahir superseded at least one senior officer , Vice Admiral Mohammad Haroon the then Chief of Staff ( COS ) , but he continued to serve and was later made Vice Chief of Naval Staff ( VCNS ) on 7 November 2005 . Naval career . Early life and education . Admiral Afzal Tahir was born in Faisalabad , Punjab . He belongs to the Arain clan , his parents migrated from Kapurthala , Indian Punjab during Partition . His father worked as an administrative officer in the Kapurthala Princely State , and later as a Central Superior Services officer in the Federal Government of Pakistan . He joined the Pakistan Navy on 11 May 1967 and attended the Pakistan Military Academy ( with 40th PMA Long Course ) and the Naval Academy at Abbottabad and Karachi respectively prior to commissioning in December 1970 in the special operations branch . He was among one of the few naval officers who were selected for the training with Army ' s Special Service Group , and his naval unit was sent to United States to conduct its excersize and training with U . S . Navy SEALs in 1969 . 1971 war experience . After his training , he was transferred to the Special Service Group Navy , a Navy ' s special operations unit , as an elite commanding officer . He saw action in the Indo - Pakistani War of 1971 where he actively participated in the conflict . Previously had studied special war courses in Pakistan Military Academy , Lieutenant Commander Tahir was a platoon commander of the Special Service Group Navy ( SSGN ) where he commanded a small team of Navy commandos in East Pakistan against the Indian Army . Lt . Crdr . Tahir led 3 successful ground based naval operations along with the Army and gained a respective reputation in Special Service Group Navy . After the conflict , Lt . Cdr . Tahir left the naval special forces and served on surface ships and minesweepers before opting to join Naval Aviation in March 1974 . His tours of duty in Aviation Service took him twice to the United Kingdom for Basic Observer and Helicopter Warfare Instructor ( HWI ) courses . In July 1985 he was promoted to the rank of Commander , to Captain in July 1992 and to Commodore in 1998 . In 1999 , he again saw action in Indo - Pakistani War of 1999 . In 2000 , he was promoted to the rank of Rear Admiral , to that of Vice Admiral on 1 September 2004 when he was serving as the Deputy Chief of Naval Staff ( training and personnel ) and to that of Admiral on 7 October 2005 and appointed as Chief of Naval Staff of the Pakistan Navy . He is a graduate of Joint Services Staff College , Chaklala and National Defence College , Islamabad . Appointments and honors . His staff appointments include deputy chief of naval staff ( operations ) , deputy chief of naval staff ( projects ) , chief staff officer to the Pakistan fleet commander and instructor at the Joint Services Staff College . His command assignments include the command of a guided missile destroyer and command of naval aviation . His last command appointment was as the commander of the Pakistan fleet ( COMPAK ) . He is a recipient of the Sitara - i - Imtiaz and Hilal - i - Imtiaz . Personal life . Tahir is a keen sportsman and single - handicap golfer . He is married and has three daughters and two sons .