Acceleration in defence production under focus: Nawaz
KARACHI: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday attended the induction ceremony of fourth F-22 frigate of Pakistan Navy (PN), PNS Aslat, at PN Dockyard on Tuesday.
Addressing the ceremony as chief guest, the PM said that acceleration in the field of defence production has been under close focus of the government.
He extended his felicitations to the nation on the “historic achievement” and commended the efforts of engineers and workers of PN, Karachi Shipyard and China Shipbuilding and Trading Company.
Nawaz also expressed his gratitude to the People’s Republic of China for its continuous support during all phases of the project. He said Pakistan’s strategic location could be only exploited to its advantage through development of maritime sector and a capable navy. He said Pakistan Navy was effectively defending and acting as a source of security for international trade plying off the country’s coast.
The prime minister expressed satisfaction that the construction of Aslat frigate was completed within the contractual timeline. He said bringing all four frigates into service within eight years was a remarkable achievement for a programme of this complexity and scale.
PNS Aslat is the first F-22P frigate of Pakistan Navy which has been indigenously built at Karachi Shipyard and Engineering Works (KSEW) in collaboration with China Shipbuilding and Trading Company. The ship was commissioned on April 17 this year and was inducted on Tuesday in PN fleet, after proving its combat readiness.
Prior to this, three F-22P frigates namely PNS Shamsheer, PNS Saif and PNS Zulfiquar have been built and delivered by China, which now form an important part of PN fleet.
Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Muhammad Asif Sandila, Minister for Defence Production Rana Tanveer, Commander Pakistan Fleet Rear Admiral Khan Hasham Bin Siddique, Managing Director KSEW Rear Admiral Syed Hassan Nasir Shah and a large number of civil and military dignitaries also attended the ceremony. staff report/app
Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan