Firoz Shah

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Firoz Shah (7 January 1914 – 6 August 2007) was a Royal Navy officer who later served in Pakistan. Born in Baghanwala, Punjab, he joined the Royal Navy in 1938 and served through World War II. After Pakistan’s independence in 1947, he joined the Pakistan Navy and moved to Karachi. He rose to the rank of Commander and retired from the navy in 1965. He then served as Principal of Cadet College Petaro from 1965 to 1972.

Under his leadership, Petaro grew in size and reputation. The college expanded facilities including a boundary wall, main gate, tennis and squash courts, a riding club, a shooting range, a hockey field, and a larger dining hall. It added pre-medical classes, created two new houses (Iqbal and Qasim), and increased enrollment from about 350 to 600 students. The college achieved strong sports results, winning the President’s Shield four times in a row (1968–1971). A flying club was started at Petaro with support from the Pakistan Air Force.

After leaving Petaro in 1972, Shah returned to his village to work on rural development, including a girls’ primary school and improving electricity and roads. In the mid-1990s he moved to Islamabad, and in 2002 he settled in Karachi, where he died in 2007 and was buried in Baghanwala near his wife Sughra. In 2007 he was awarded Sitara-e-Imtiaz (Military) posthumously by the Government of Pakistan for his services to Cadet College Petaro; the award was accepted by his younger son a week after his death.