About Author and the Books
Naeem Sarfraz, a former Naval officer, retired ship-owner, businessman and philanthropist.
He joined the Pakistan Navy in 1959, where he served for 15 years. During his naval career he held a variety of operational roles, including command of three warships and as Staff Officer to the Fleet Commander. After resigning from the Navy in 1974 Mr. Naeem Sarfraz, as a Master Mariner, commanded merchant ships operating worldwide. Eventually, he set up his own ship-owning and chartering business.
Mr. Naeem Sarfraz has written extensively in national newspapers and spoken at numerous international conferences on security issues, as well as issues related to human rights and development and has been a Research Fellow at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Canada.
Mr. Naeem Sarfraz has chaired on a number of government task forces and committees over the past 20 years. As Chairman of the Task Force on the Maritime Industry he helped revamp the shipping industry, including successfully opening up the then moribund Gwadar port.
This 60+ years of successful and continuous hands on experience, starting January 1959, in virtually all aspects of national and international maritime activities, civilian and military, in war and peace, is unique in Pakistan's history.
Naeem Sarfraz has written two books and published a third in 2012.
‘’Reflections’’
“Reflections’’ contains articles written by the Author for the press, over 20 years back. Their theme is to think “Out of the Box”. As Einstein had allegedly said “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results”. For decades we have been doing the same thing over and over again and have inevitably failed. It is necessary to find fresh solutions, “Out of the Box”. ‘’Reflections’’
‘’Admirals of Peace’’
Disregarding their mutual hostility, retired Indian and Pakistani Admirals worked silently over 15 years to help resolve critical maritime issues for peace in the Indian Ocean. ‘’Admirals of Peace’’
The title of the initiative is intentionally incongruous. It does not mention India or Pakistan, nor does it hint at problem solving – both of which cause alarm and concerns in some political and bureaucratic quarters. Confidence and Cooperation in South Asian Waters (CCSAW) places the issue at a more academic and non-intrusive level. The tangible and intangible successful outcomes of this initiative have been included, particularly the addition of 50,000 sq km of our ‘’Extended Continental Shelf.’’
‘’The Human Face of Marine Piracy’’
The book covers an output-oriented initiative intended to “develop credible counter-piracy policy options”. As the title indicated, the focus was not so much on the military, naval and enforcement aspect of marine piracy as on the human and socio-economic impacts; and identification of actions that stakeholders can take cooperatively to prevent, mitigate, prepare for, respond to and recover from, marine piracy incidents. ‘’The Human Face of Marine Piracy’’