In 2002, Vice-Admiral Karimullah was appointed Chief of Naval Staff and was promoted to four-star admiral in the Navy before taking the post.[1] Admiral Karimullah superseded two senior naval officers, Vice-Admiral Taj Khattak, the Vice Chief of Naval Staff (VCNS), and Vice-Admiral G.Z. Malik, the commander of Submarine fleet– both officers were much senior to him.:xxx[2] During this time, he engaged in talks with the Chinese Navy for a technology transfer of building the modern warships in Karachi.[8]