Arabic: حَسْبُنَا اللَّهُ وَنِعْمَ الْوَكِيلُ Urdu: ہمارے لیے اللّٰہ کافی ہے اور وہ بہترین کارساز ہے۔ (
English: Allah is Sufficient for us - and what an excellent (reliable) Trustee (of affairs) is He!)[3] (Qur'an,
3:173)
The primary role of the Pakistan Navy is to defend Pakistan's sea frontiers from any external enemy attack.[6][7] In addition to its war services, the Navy has mobilized its
war assets to conduct
humanitarian rescue operations at home as well as participating in
multinational task forces mandated by the
United Nations to prevent seaborne terrorism and privacy off the coasts.[8][9]
Today is a historic day for Pakistan, doubly so for those of us in the Navy. The
Dominion of Pakistan has come into being and with it a new Navy – the Royal Pakistan Navy – has been born. I am proud to have been appointed to command it and serve with you at this time. In the coming months, it will be my duty and yours to build up our Navy into a happy and efficient force
The Pakistan Navy came into existence on 15 August 1947 with the
establishment of Pakistan as an independent state from the
United Kingdom.[17] The Armed Forces Reconstitution Committee (AFRC), under
Field MarshalSir Claude Auchinleck, the last British
Commander-in-Chief, India (C-in-C, India), divided the shares and assets of the
Royal Indian Navy (RIN) between India and Pakistan in a ratio of 2:1,[18]: conts. with Pakistan receiving the two
sloops, two
frigates, four minesweepers, two
naval trawlers and four harbour launches.[19]: 45–46 The Armed Forces Reconstitution Committee (AFRC) allocated about
two-thirds of the assets of the Royal Indian Navy to India while one third was given to the new
Dominion of Pakistan, despite Pakistan having inherited the high percentage of
delta areas on its coast and the large maritime area covering the
Arabian sea on the West and the
Bay of Bengal on the East.[20]: 90 In addition, India also objected to transfer any machinery at the
Bombay Dockyard to Pakistan and further refused to part the machinery that happened to be on its soil.[21]: 90
The Navy endured a difficult history— with only 200 officers and 3,000 sailors were inherited to the Navy – the most senior being
CaptainHMS Choudri who had little experience in the
military staffing.[19]: 45 Of the ~200 officers, twenty of these had come from the Executive Branch of the
Royal Indian Navy,[22] and only six officers were the
mechanical engineers while there were none
electrical engineers or
specialists to care for the electrical systems needed to be look after in the weapons systems or the
powering up the machinery in the vessels as whole.[19]: 47 The Navy suffered perennial problems with inadequate staff, lack of operational bases, lack of financial support, and poor technological and personnel resources.[19]: 45 Secondly, it grew out as the smallest
military uniform branch that contributed in its lack of importance in
federal budgets as well as the problems relating to its institutional infrastructure.[19]: 46
The
Army and the
Air Force were the dominant forces where the defence planning were based wholly on army and air force point of view.[19]: 46 Additional problems relating to the Navy were the lack of facilities and maintenance machinery, as the only
naval dockyard on the
subcontinent was located in
Bombay in
India.[19]: 46
To overcome these difficulties, the Navy had to launch a recruitment programme for the young nation, starting in
East Pakistan which proved to be very difficult to sustain the programme; therefore, it was moved back to
West Pakistan to concentrate recruitment on West Pakistan.[19]: 46 Furthermore, the Navy's procurement was greatly determined by its war role and it had to struggle for a role for itself throughout its history from its beginning.[23]: 66
The Navy's combat actions largely remained in absence during the
first war with
India in 1947–48 as all the fighting was restricted to
land and
aerial combat missions.[25]: 474 On operational planning, Captain HMS Choudri had engaged on commanding a former
RINdestroyer from
Karachi to
Bombay to oversee the evacuation of
Indian emigrants to Pakistan.[25]: 474 In 1948, the Royal Pakistan Navy had to engage in humanitarian missions to evacuate
Indian immigrants trapped in disputed and hostile areas, with its frigates operating continuously.[19]: 48
In 1950, the Navy's
nationalisation took place when many officers from the air force and army volunteered to join the navy and
NCOs gaining commission as an officers.[19]: 50–51 Support from the army and air force to the navy led to the establishment of logistics and maintenance machinery with vigorous efforts directed towards integrating the navy presence in
East Pakistan, thereby creating opportunities for people in East Pakistan to participate in the build-up.[19]: 51
In 1951, the
Pakistan government called for appointing native chiefs of the armed forces, but it was not until 1953 that a native navy chief was appointed.[19]: 51–52 The
British Admiralty, however, maintained the command of the Navy through Rear-Admiral Jefford who had native deputy chiefs of staff including
Commodore HMS Choudhri, Commodore Khalid Jamil, and
Commander M.A. Alavi.[19]: 51–52
During this time, a number of goodwill missions were carried out by the navy's warships, and non-combat missions were conducted under the auspices of the Royal Navy.[26] In 1951, HMS Choudhri's promotion papers as naval chief were approved by
Prime MinisterLiaquat Ali Khan but it was not until 1953 when HMS Choudhri was promoted as
vice admiral and commander with the support from
army commander-in-chief General
Ayub Khan.[19]: 52 He handed over the command of 25th Destroyer squadron to a
Polish naval officer, Commander
Romuald Nalecz-Tyminski.[27]
In February 1956, the British government announced the transfer of several major surface combat warships to Pakistan Navy, including a cruiser and four destroyers to be purchased with funds made available under the U.S.
Military Assistance Program.[19]: 54 In 1957, the Navy finalised the purchase of a
cruiser from the United Kingdom and used the government's own funds for the purchase which caused a great ire against Admiral Choudhri in the Finance Ministry.[19]: 55
In 1958, the Navy made an unsuccessful attempt to obtain
Neptun-class submarines from Sweden using the American security funds; it was halted by the United States and Pakistan's Finance Ministry despite the fact that the idea had support from
Army GHQ.[19]: 57 In 1958–59, the
Navy NHQ staff began quarrelling with the Army GHQ staff and the
Ministry of Defense (MoD) over plans regarding the modernisation of the navy that resulted in bitter
interservice rivalry between army and navy and ended with Admiral Choudri's resignation to the
Presidency in 1959.[19]: 57
Proposal of attaining the
aircraft carrier was deferred due to financial constraints, forcing Pakistan to move towards establishing the formidable submarine command.[30]: 108 From 1956 to 1963, two destroyers, eight coastal minesweepers, and an
oiler were procured from the United States and United Kingdom as a direct result of Pakistan's participation in the anti-Communist defence pacts
SEATO and
CENTO.[19]
War with India and subsequent war deployments (1965–1970)
After the bitter resignation of Vice-Admiral HMS Choudri in 1959, Vice-Admiral
Afzal Rahman Khan was appointed as the
Commander in Chief in Navy who worked towards building relations with President
Ayub Khan in retaining hopes for procuring a submarine despite financial constraints.[19]: 58–59 The Royal Navy accepted the long awaiting requests from the Pakistan Navy for a regular visit to
Karachi Naval Dockyard to provide first hand experience in submarine operations in 1960–61.[19]: 58 The
Ayub administration did not increase the financial funding of the navy at the expense to army and air force but he did not object to American contributions to train the Pakistan Navy in submarine operations.[19]: 59 It was the
U.S. Navy that provided an insightful and crucial training support to Pakistan Navy enabling it to conduct operations in long range in the
Indian Ocean and the proposal of procuring the submarine was met with favourable views in 1963 due to the prospect of the
Soviet Navy leasing a submarine to the
Indian Navy.[19]: 58 After seeing the U.S. contribution, the
United Kingdom decided to provide training and education to Pakistan Navy on submarine operations, and in 1964,
PNS Ghazi was commissioned from the United States under the
Security Assistance Program (SAP).[19]: 58
Even though, neither the Navy nor the Air Force was notified of the
Kashmir incursion in 1965, the Navy was well-prepared at the time when the
second war broke out between Pakistan and India in 1965.[19] The
naval chief Admiral
Afzal Rahman Khan ordered all war units of the Pakistan Navy to take up defensive positions off the coast, but did not order any offensive operations in the
Bay of Bengal.[19]: 60–61 As the
Indian Air Force's repeated sorties and raids disrupted
PAF operations, the Navy assumed a more aggressive role in the conflict.[19]: 61 On 2 September, the Navy deployed its first long-range submarine, PNS Ghazi under
CommanderK. R. Niazi which was charged with gathering intelligence on Indian naval movements that stalked the diverting threats posed by the aircraft carrier
INS Vikrant.[31]
On the night of 7/8 September, a naval squadron comprising four destroyers, one frigate, one cruiser, and one submarine, under the command of Commodore
S. M. Anwar, launched
artillery operation— an attack on the radar facilities used by the Indian Air Force in the small coastal town of
Dwarka.[31] The operation ended with limited damage to the area.[31] After gunnery bombardment,
Ghazi was deployed against the Indian Navy's
Western Naval Command at Bombay on 22 September and ended her operations and reported safely back to
Karachi Naval Dockyard on 23 September 1965.[31]
The Pakistan Navy explored the idea of installing Russian
missile system on former British frigates but Soviets refrained from doing so due to objections from India.[32]
After the war, the United States imposed an arms embargo on Pakistan and Pakistani military began exploring options for military procurement from China, France, and Soviet Union.[19]: 62 The United Kingdom offered the Navy to jointly built the
Type 21 frigate but was rejected by Ayub administration that would only allow the financial capital to be spent on submarine procurement.[19]: 63
In 1966, the Pakistan Navy established its own
special operations force, the
Navy Special Service Group (Navy SSG) after the recommendations from the
United States Navy.[33] In 1966–70, Pakistan Navy had been well aware of massive
procurement and acquisitions of
weapon systems being acquired from the
Soviet Union and
United Kingdom, and the danger it will posed to Pakistan.[19]: 63 In 1966–69, there were series of unsuccessful talks of acquiring the warships from the Soviet Navy which ended with no yielding results.[19]: 63 The Soviet Union offered to sell their
Osa-class missile boat but Pakistan Navy wanted the
Styx missiles to be installed in frigates in a believe that the missile boats were not big enough to meet the Pakistani requirements in operating in the
Indian Ocean.[19]: 63 The Russians later determined to their strategic interests lay with India and allowed the developing relationship with Pakistan to wither.[32]: 283–288
Difficulties arose between and after the arms embargo was lifted by the United States which lifted based strictly on
cash-and-carry basis.[19]: 63 Pleas for strengthening the Navy in
East Pakistan were ignored due to monetary issues and financial constraints restricted the Navy's capabilities to function more efficiently.[19]: 63 In 1968, the
Daphné-class submarines were procured from France while operating
Tench-class submarines that was refitted and upgraded by the
Turkish Navy.[19]: 63 Due to the Egyptian blockade of the
Suez Canal, the Navy had to execute a notable submerged
circumnavigation operation from the Indian Ocean through the
Atlantic Ocean in order to undergo a refit program at the
Gölcük Naval Shipyard in Turkey which was the only facility to manage the
refitting and
mid-life upgrades of
military computers of the Tench class.[34] Despite reservations harboring by the Navy NHQ about the ageing Ghazi, she was sailed under the command of Commander
Ahmed Tasnim starting from the
Karachi coast in Indian Ocean to
Cape of Good Hope,
South Africa, through the Atlantic Ocean and ended at the east coast of the
Sea of Marmara where the Gölcük Naval Shipyard was located.[34]
In 1968–69, the Navy NHQ staff began its tussle with the
AHQ staff over the issue establishing the
naval aviation who feared the loss of fighter jets and their pilots in the sea and was hostile towards this idea.[19]: 63 The United States entered in discussing the transfer of
P3B Orion aircraft to the Navy in 1970 with
Yahya administration but were not procured until the end of the 1970s.[19]: 63 In 1970, the
foreign relations between Pakistan and East Pakistan further deteriorated and the Navy knew that it was impossible to defend East Pakistan from approaching Indian Navy.[19]: 63 Series of reforms were carried when Navy's serious reservations were considered by the Yahya administration and
East Pakistanis were hastily recruited in what was known as
Eastern Naval Command (Pakistan) but this proved to be disaster for Navy when majority of Bengali naval officers and ~3,000 sailors
defected to India to join the
Awami League's military wing– the Mukti Bahini.[19]: 64–65 Such events had jeopardised the operational scope of the Navy and the Navy NHQ staffers and commanders knew very well that it (Navy) was ill-prepared for the war and Pakistan was about to learn the consequences of disconnecting strategy from reality.[19]: 65
By 1971, the Navy NHQ staffers and their commanders knew very well that the Pakistan Navy was poorly represented in East Pakistan (now
Bangladesh) and there was no main infrastructure to conduct defensive operation against the
Eastern Naval Command of Indian Navy in
Bay of Bengal.[19]: 64 The Navy was only able conducted the
riverine-based operations that was being undertaken by the
Pakistan Marines with the assistance from the
Navy Special Service Group, code named,
Barisal, in April 1971.[17] Although, the Governor of East Pakistan, Vice-Admiral
S.M. Ahsan, made efforts to increase the naval presence and significance in 1969 but the Indian Navy's Eastern Naval Command continued to pose a significant threat since it had capability of conduct operations in long-range areas.[35]
Furthermore, the defections from Navy's Bengali officers and sailors had jeopardise the Navy's operational scope who went onto join the
Awami League's militant wing, the Mukti Bahini in a program known as Jackpot.[35] Though, the program was disrupted by the Navy from further annihilation but the naval facilities were severely damaged due to this operation on 15 March 1971.[35] East-Pakistan's geography was surrounded by India on all three landward sides by the
Indian Army as the Navy was in attempt to prevent India from blocking the coasts.[35]
During this time, the Navy NHQ was housed in Karachi that decided to deploy the newly
MLUGhazi submarine on East while
Hangor in West for the intelligence gathering purposes.[35]
At the end of East-Pakistan crisis.... We (Eastern Command) had no intelligence and hence, were both deaf and blind with the Indian Navy and Indian Air Force pounding us day and night....
— Admiral Mohammad Sharif, to U.S. Admiral
Zumwalt in 1971[36]
With no naval aviation branch to guard the
Karachi port, the Indian Navy breached the seaborne borders of Pakistan and successfully launched the
first missile attack, consisting of three Soviet-built
Osa-classmissile boats escorted by two
anti-submarine patrol vessels on 4 December 1971.[37] Nearing Karachi's port area, the Indian Navy's squadron launched
Styx missiles anti-ship missiles, which the obsolescent Pakistani warships had no viable defence against.[37] Two of the warships,
PNS Muhafiz and
PNS Khaibar, were sunk, while
PNS Shahjahan was damaged beyond repair.[37] After the attacks, the Indian Navy's missile boat squadron safely returned to its home base without sustaining any damages.[37]
On 8 December 1971,
Hangor commanded by its
CommanderAhmed Tasnim, sank the Indian frigate
INS Khukri off the coast of Gujarat, India— this was the first sinking of a warship by a submarine since
World War II, and resulted in the loss of eighteen officers and one-seventy six sailors of the Indian Navy while the inflicting severe damages to another warship, INS Kirpan, by the same submarine.[38] The
Pakistan Air Force now covering for Karachi made several of the unsuccessful attempts to engage the Indian Navy's missile boat squadron by carrying out the aerial bombing missions over the
Okha Harbor– the forward base of the Indian Navy's missile boat squadron.[37] The Indian Navy retaliated with a
second missile attack on Pakistan's coast on the night of 8 December 1971 when a small
flotilla of Indian vessels, consisting of a missile boat and two frigates, approached Karachi and launched a missile attack that sank the Panamanian
cargo shipGulf Star, PNS Dacca and the British merchant ship SS Harmattan were damaged.[37]
The missile-based attacks were the complete success for the Indian Navy, and a psychological trauma for Pakistan Navy, the human and material cost severely cutting into its combat capability, nearly 1,700 sailors perished at the barracks.[39]
The
commercial pilots from the
Pakistan International Airlines volunteered to conduct air surveillance missions with the
Pakistan Air Force, but this proved less than helpful when the Pakistan Navy's forward observer team, led by
Cdre.A. W. Bhombal misidentified their own larger frigate,
PNS Zulfiqar, as an Indian missile boat, giving clearance to the
F-86 fighter jets of the
Pakistan Air Force which made several attack runs before finally identifying Zulfiqar by the Navy NHQ.[39] This serious
friendly fire incident resulted in further loss of navy personnel, as well as the loss of the ship, which was severely damaged and the Pakistan Navy's operational capabilities were now virtually extinct, and morale plummeted.[39] The Indian Navy observers who watched the raid nearby later wrote in their
war logs that the "PAF pilots failed to recognize the difference between a large PNS Zulfiqar frigate and a relatively small Osa missile boat."[39] The PAF, however, contested this claim by holding Cdre. Bhombal of the responsibility of misidentifying his own warship and giving clearance to the PAF to mount an attack on their own ship.[39][40]
The Navy's only long range submarine, Ghazi, was deployed to the area but, according to neutral sources, it sank en route under mysterious circumstances.[41] Pakistani authorities state that it sank either due to internal explosion or detonation of mines which it was laying at the time.[42] The Indian Navy claims to have sunk the submarine.[43][44][45][46]
The submarine's destruction enabled the Indian Navy to enforce a blockade on then East Pakistan.[47] According to the defence magazine, Pakistan Defence Journal, the attack on Karachi, Dhaka, Chittagong and the loss of Ghazi, the Navy no longer was able to match the threat of Indian Navy as it was already outclassed by the Indian Navy after the 1965 war.[37]
The damage inflicted by the Indian Navy and
Indian Air Force on the Navy stood at seven
gunboats, one minesweeper, two destroyers, three
patrol craft, eighteen cargo, supply and communication vessels, and large-scale damage inflicted on the naval base and docks in the coastal town of Karachi.[37] Three merchant navy ships; Anwar Baksh, Pasni and Madhumathi;[48] and ten smaller vessels were captured.[49] Around 1,900 personnel were lost, while 1413 servicemen (mostly officers) were captured by Indian forces in
Dhaka.[50] The Indian Navy lost 18 officers and 176 sailors[38][51] and a frigate, while another frigate was damaged and a
Breguet Alizé naval aircraft was shot down by the
Pakistan Air Force.[37]
According to one Pakistan scholar,
Tariq Ali, the Pakistan Navy lost half its force in the war.[52] Despite the limited resources and manpower, the Navy performed its task diligently by providing support to inter-services (air force and army) until the end.[53]
According to the testimony provided by the
AdmiralMohammad Shariff in 2015, the primary reason for this loss has been attributed to the High Command's failure in defining a role for the Navy, or even considering Navy as military in general.[53] Since then the Navy has sought to improve the structure and fleet by putting special emphasis on sub-surface warfare capability as it allows for the most efficient way to deny the control of Pakistani sea lanes to an adversary.[53] In a thesis written by Dr.
P. I. Cheema in 2002,
Ayub Khan, who had enjoyed considerable influence on Pakistan's national politicians, did not fully understood the Navy as a
military service or neither comprehend the importance of safeguarding the
sea lines of communication, which prevented the development of the Navy as a potent force as it should have in the 1970s.[21]: 93
Restructuring and building towards modern Navy: 1972–1989
After
1971 war, steps were taken to modernise and increase the operational scope of the Navy.[19][21]: 103 : 65 Unlike the army or the air force, the naval officers were able to continue their military service with the Navy, and their promotions were relatively quicker than other military branches in 1972–74.[19]: 141
In 1974, the
Naval Aviation branch was established with the transfer of the
Westland Sea King helicopters from the
United Kingdom in 1975, followed by test firing the
surface-to-shipExocet missile as a
befitting response to the Indian Navy in 1979.[54] With the ability to fire the land-based Exocet missile from a reconnaissance aircraft, the Navy became the first of its kind in the
South Asia to acquire land-based ballistics missile capable long range reconnaissance aircraft.[59]: 77
In 1976, the Navy moved towards successfully acquiring the military computers from the British firm, the
Ferranti, to increase its defence's for its coastlines.[54] The
War Enquiry Commission noted the lack of strategic communication and the
grand strategy between the four-branches of the military during the
conflict and wars with India, recommending the establishment of the
Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee to maintain strategic military communication between the inter-services and the federal government, that is to be chaired by the appointed
Chairman joint chiefs as the government's principal military adviser.[19]: 140 In 1976, Navy saw its first
four-star rank admiral when
Mohammad Shariff was promoted to this rank, and later becoming the first admiral to be appointed as the
Chairman of
Joint Chiefs Committee in 1977.[53][60]: 372 In 1977, the United States reportedly transferred the two
refittedGearing-class destroyer to the Pakistan Navy, which were much superior to the British frigates, followed by obtaining more destroyers from the U.S. Navy in 1982–83.[19]: 142
During this time, the Navy to diversify its procurement with defence deals made with
China,
France, and the United Kingdom but the dependence grew on China when the Navy acquired the anti-submarine warships that gave the Navy credible sea-denial capability.[61] In 1979, the France offered to sell their
Agosta-70A-class submarine and was immediately acquired which were commissioned as
Hurmat and
Hashmat.[34] Induction of the Agosta-70A class gave Pakistan Navy a
depth advantage over the Indian Navy, and gave the Navy an ability to conduct operations in deeper
Indian Ocean at wider range.[61][19][62]: 143
In 1982, the
Reagan administration submitted the proposal of
US$3.2 billion aid for Pakistan that was aimed towards economic uplift and security assistance to the
United States Congress as the Navy entered in successful negotiation of obtaining the
Harpoon system, despite the strong Indian lobby opposing and objecting of this deal.[19]: 144 In 1985, the Navy bought the
Mirage 5V aircraft for the naval role and were equipped with the
Exocet A39 missile that gives the capability of sea denial to the Pakistan Navy.[19]: 144 With the induction of the missile systems, long-range and depth endurance submarines, missiles destroyers, fighter aircraft, and establishment of the
Pakistan Maritime Security Agency, the Pakistan Navy eventually ended the Indian Navy's control over the Indian Ocean, and the Indian Navy's confidence that it could contain the Pakistan Navy at shorelines.[19]: 145
Eventually, the Pakistan Navy began its wartime deployment in
Middle Eastern countries through the
Persian Gulf and deployed its war assets in Saudi Arabia in support of the U.S. Navy's fleet in wake of the events involving the
Iran–Iraq War and
tensions with Libya.[19]: 145 In 1982, the Reagan administration approved
US$3.2 billion military and economic aid to Pakistan with Pakistan acquiring eight
Brooke and
Garcia-class frigates from the United States Navy on a five-year lease in 1988.[53] A
depot for repairs,
USS Hector followed the lease of these ships in April 1989. This was done due to the
Zia administration's
co-operation with the
Reagan administration against the Soviet Union's
invasion in Afghanistan.[53]
Self reliance, engagement and covert operations (1990–1999)
After the Russian
troops withdrawal from
Afghanistan in 1989, the
Bush administration imposed the
arms embargo on Pakistan by uncovering the existence of the covert
atomic bomb program to the United States Congress, which ultimately refrained the transfer of the maritime patrol aircraft, missile systems, and defence software on 1 October 1990.[53] With the expiration of the lease of the
Garcia and
Brooke-class guided missile frigates, the Navy had to return the frigates to the United States that were sold to India for scrapped metals, and Navy to faced the problems for adequate funding towards the modern Navy.[19]: 185 The embargo seriously impaired the Navy's operational scope and paralysed its ability to operate in the
Indian Ocean, since the Navy's
fleet was composed of entirely the former U.S.-built warships.[19]: 185
Since 1987, the Pakistan Navy had been interested in acquiring the
Type 21 frigates from the
United Kingdom, and the Navy turned to the
Royal Navy for an immediate purchase which was approved in 1993 whose expensive refitting and technological upgrades had to carried out by Pakistan itself at their
Naval Base in Karachi over the years.[19]: 185 In 1994, the Pakistan Navy entered in
lengthy, complicated, and controversial negotiation with France to acquire the long-range submarine technology by dismissing the idea of procuring
nuclear-powered submarine from China due to noise issue that the Indian Navy was quiet able to track.[19]: 183–185 [64] Despite embargo, the United States Navy maintained its relations with Pakistan Navy, inviting the Pakistanis to participate in the Inspired Siren in 1994, and gave the Pakistan Navy instructions and run down on the nuclear submarine and aircraft carrier operations.[19]: 185 In an attempt to warm the political relations with the United States, the Pakistani military joined the
U.S. actions in the
Somali Civil War, conducting
wartime patrol in the Somali coast.[65][54]
In 1994, the Navy was
deployed in support of the U.S. Navy and extended its support in 1995 to participate in
Operation United Shield to conclude its side of operation after evacuating personnel and equipment of the
army,
marines, and air force.[66] By 1996, the Brown amendment was introduced that allowed the uplifting of the embargo on Pakistan, allowing the transfer of the maritime patrol aircraft to the Navy.[19]: 185
On 10 August 1999, a serious incident took place in
Sir Creek region when the Indian Air Force shot down the
Naval Aviation aircraft that resulted in deaths of 16 naval personnel, mostly officers.[69]: 62 On 29 August 1999, another aircraft of the Navy,
P3C Orion, was lost due to an accident with the loss of twenty one lives.[70]: 537 [71][72]
Over the issue of the Indian Air Force's shot down of the aircraft, the Navy filed a lawsuit against the Indian Air Force at the
International Court of Justice, but the claim was later dismissed due to over-reaching of the court's mandate.[69]: 62–63 [73]
Pakistan fully endorse the requirements of a strong navy, capable of safeguarding Pakistan's sea frontiers and her Lines of Communication, monitoring and protecting her exclusive economic zone. Continuous efforts are at hand to provide the best available equipment to the Navy despite all economic constraints.
After his incident in 1999, another proposal was raised to switched the
air-independent propulsion of Agosta submarine to substitute with
nuclear propulsion, however the proposal was dismissed.[68]
War on Terror in Afghanistan and operations in North-West (2001–present)
After the
9/11 terrorist attacks in the
United States, the sanctions on Pakistan were eventually uplifted, allowing the Navy to procure the U.S.-built weapon systems and warships to regain its ability to operate in the Indian Ocean as it became involved in war preparations during the
standoff with India in 2001–02.[68] In 2001, the Navy took serious consideration of deploying the
nuclear weapons on its submarines although none of the nuclear weapons were ever deployed in the submarines.[64]
In 2003–04, there were several proposals made for acquiring the vintage
aircraft carriers but the Navy itself had dismissed the idea since the country has not aspired to have an aircraft capability.[74]: 79 In 2002–03, the Pakistan Navy deployment took place in the Indian Ocean, participating in the naval drills to combat terrorism from seaborne platforms, and eventually entered in defence negotiations with China for acquiring the technology to designing and building the guided missile frigates— the
F-22P guided missile frigates were eventually built it in 2006–15.[54]
Since 2004, the Navy's deployment took place in Indian Ocean, playing a crucial role in the multinational
NAVCENT in
Bahrain, and took the leadership of the
CTF-150 and
CTF-151 as well as taking active participation in the
Operation Enduring Freedom in 2006–10.[75][76][77] In 2008, the task force group consisting of
PNS Badr,
PNS Shah Jahan,
PNS Nasr, and the Pakistan Air Force's Explosive Ordnance Disposal participated in the Exercise Inspired Union with the U.S. Navy in the Indian Ocean to develop skills in a prevention of seaborne terrorism.[78]
Despite its
seaborne mission, the Navy had played an active role in controlling the insurgency in
former tribal belt in
Western Pakistan, mostly taking roles in managing
logistics and
intelligence gathering as well as conducting ground operations with the army in Western areas to track down the
al-Qaeda operatives.[79] From 2010 to 2011, the Navy was in a brief direct conflict with the violent
TTP group and
al-Qaeda, and its Naval Intelligence was able to track down the infiltrated militants within the ranks of the Navy.[80][81]
In 2015, the Navy was deployed in support of the
Saudi-led blockade of Yemen after accepting the request from the
Saudi Arabia.[82] As of current, the Navy continues increase its operational scope in the Indian Ocean and reportedly successfully entering in defence talks with Turkey to jointly built the
MILGEM project in Pakistan in 2018–2019 while it had earlier announced to start the building the program of the
nuclear submarine for its current operational capabilities in 2013.[83]
Organization, Naval Headquarters
Principal Staff Commands and Principal Staff Officers
The war functions of the Navy is controlled from the single combat headquarters, the
Navy NHQ, located in
Islamabad at vicinity of the
Joint Staff Headquarters and the
Army GHQ in
Rawalpindi Cantonment in
Punjab in
Pakistan.[86] The Chief of Naval Staff controls and commands the Navy at all levels of operational command, and is assisted by number of
Principal Staff Officers (PSOs) (Staff Commanders) who are commissioned at the three-star rank and two-star rank admirals. The Staff Appointments marked in the light goldish yellow color are the most important seats at NHQ which play a very important administrative role for the proper functioning of the Pakistan Navy and its assets.[86]
Due to the influence from the
Royal Navy and later by the
United States Navy since its earliest inception, the Pakistan Navy has a unique command structure and the navy's functionality is divided in various branches.[61]
There are seven military staff commands in the navy that are in fact administrative, directed by the several appointed
Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff (DCNS) and often assisted by the
Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff (ACNS) holding the rank of commodore a one-star rank senior officer reporting directly to their respective
Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff (DCNS).[61]: 73 The Deputy Chiefs Of Naval Staff are usually holding either the
two-star or
three-star ranks.[61]: 73 The each and appointed Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff head or commander of their respected branch reports directly to the
Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS) at
Navy NHQ in Islamabad of their respected command.
The military administration of the Navy under the
Naval Chief based in the
Navy NHQ includes its Principal Staff Commands and Principal Staff Officers:
Each branch in the navy offers specialisation and officers interested in joining the particular service have to pass aptitude tests before attending the specialised school that usually last for two to three years, in which the officer is able to attain a college degree.[87][88]
Since its restructuring and reorganisation over the several years, the Pakistan Navy now operates eight operational and tactical field commands and also two major type commands, two of the important commands of aviation and submarines are reporting directly to the senior Pakistan Fleet Command.[86] Each command is headed by a senior flag officer who usually holds a ranks of
three-star rank:
Vice-Admiral and
two-star rank:
Rear-Admiral.[86] The appointment to the senior
fleet commander known as s
Commander, Pakistan Fleet leads the navy's entire fleet with a responsibility of deploying the entire combat formations of the navy.[61]: 73
Geographically, there are three administrative commanders, such as Commander Karachi (COMKAR),
Commander Central Punjab (COMCEP), and Commander Northern (COMNOR), who administer the bulk of naval installations, offshore establishments, and training facilities besides the seven oceanic based commands.[61]: 73
The war-fighting command responsible for operational deployments of the Surface, Submarine, and Aviation Commands to ensure the
operational readiness and assurances of the Navy.
Directs the Naval Depots Command to oversee all the naval supplies and materials being stored and distributed in the Pakistan Navy and reporting directly to COMLOG
The Navy Special Service Group is headquartered at
PNS Iqbal in Karachi where the physical conditioning and weapon tactics training take place.[94] The Navy Special Service Group's specialisation further includes training and mastery in the
visit, board, search, and seizure methods,
naval interdiction, and
security operations to prevent seaborne-based terrorism.[95]
The Navy Special Service Group is a tighter unit composed of highly qualified and selected personnel who are modelled on and inspired by the
U.S. Navy SEALs training and tradition.[94] The actual number of personnel of Navy Special Service Group is classified and their deployment are also subjected to
classified information.[94]
In 1970–71, the Navy established the
Pakistan Marines to support the
amphibious warfare operations and were initially influenced by the
United States Marines Corps but the Marines component was decommissioned by the federal government in 1974.[96] On 14 April 1990, the Pakistan Marines were again recommissioned in the Navy with about 2,000 personnel.[97] The advanced training of the Marines are often takes place with the
Pakistan Army at their School of Infantry and Tactics in Quetta in Balochistan.[98]
The
1st Marines Battalion, the special operation unit, of the Pakistan Marines is specifically trained by the Pakistan Army to conduct infiltration and
anti-aircraft warfare operations. The 1st Battalion is currently deployed in
Sir Creek.[99]
Military philosophy
Combat doctrine
The military doctrine and philosophy of the Pakistan Navy is primarily directed towards preventing the
Indian Navy repeating the 1971 blockade of the Pakistani coasts.[86] From 1947 until 1971, the Pakistan Navy was effectively little more than a
coast guard because the Government of Pakistan did not give importance to the strategy of protecting the
sea lines of communication.[61]: 68 In 1971, the
Indian Navy ultimately played a decisive role by enforcing a blockade of
Chittagong and
Karachi, the only maritime outlets of
East Pakistan and
West Pakistan respectively. The Navy was unable to break the blockade leading to Pakistan's economic and military resources being severely drained and communication was limited between the two wings of the country. Subsequently, the
federal government increased the funding of the Navy.[21]: 97–98 [102]: 94
Since 1971 the Navy tactical doctrine has included the acquisition, development, employment, and aggressive deployment of the long-range and
depth reaching submarines in an effort to target and destroy its adversaries by attacking surface warships before reaching the country's ports.[86] The
mining of the Karachi's harbour is also taken as a serious consideration of preventing the enemy from launching the missile attacks in the port city of Karachi.[86]
In 1983–85, the Navy commissioned the
Dassault Mirage 5 from
France whose weapon system included the naval variant of the
Exocet missiles and are aimed towards engaging the Indian Navy's aircraft out to 500 kilometres (310 mi) in the
Indian Ocean.[86][103]
The routine deployment of the surface fleet as part of the
Combined Task Forces provides the opportunity to the safeguard the sealines of communications.[86] Since 1999, the
Pakistan Marines's special reconnaissance forces has been deployed in the
Sir Creek region are aimed towards offshore protection against the incursions from the Indian Army's
Para Commandos from the sea while taking the initiatives of deployment of the special forces groups behind the enemy lines through insertion by the
HALO/HAHO airdrop or by using the midget submarines.[86]
Responding to the development of the
INS Arihant, the Pakistan Navy reportedly announced the launch of the nuclear powered submarine program to counter the submarine threat in 2012.[104]
The Navy eventually pushed for attaining the naval-based nuclear
second-strike capability in 2017 when the
ISPR announced the Pakistan Navy's to have attained the sea-based second strike capability when it launched the nuclear
SLCM based on the
Babur cruise missile, though the range of the SLCM remains to be at the short range.[105]
USS McInerney in 2004. She is now known as PNS Alamgir after a major refit and overhaul in 2010.
The names of the commissioned warship and noncombat vessels of the Pakistan Navy are prefixed with the capital letters "PNS"— the Pakistan Navy Ship.[86] The naming convention of the ship are selected by the
Ministry of Defense, often honouring the important people or places in the history of Pakistan, and then commissioned by the
President of Pakistan.[106][107][108]
The Surface Fleet, established in 1947, is a pivotal component of the Navy with crucial role in maintaining the military balance with the
Indian Navy in the
Indian Ocean, taking part in multinational task forces to prevent seaborne terrorism and piracy.[109]
The Navy currently operates approximately 100 vessels including ones used by the Maritime Security Agency (MSA) and
Pakistan Marines.[86] In the current inventory, the Navy has a combination of Turkish, American, Chinese and locally produced ships including the American
Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigate, Turkish-designed
Babur class, and locally-built
Zulfiquar-class frigate (built with Chinese assistance). Decommissioning of the ageing
Tariq class destroyer has been completed after the construction of additional missile guided
Zulfiquar-class frigates in Pakistan by 2021 and the acquisition of the
Type 054A frigates from China that started in 2017.[110][111][112][113]
In 1992, the
French Navy transferred its
Tripartite-class minehunter and helped designed the
Munsif-class minehunters in Pakistan as a local production that increased the Pakistan Navy's operational scope and its overall capabilities.
In 2011, the Navy commissioned the
Azmat-class corvette based on the Chinese design of
Type 037II Houjian missile boat with the lead boat being designed in China while three remaining were built in Pakistan through the technology transfer agreement– these missile boats are commissioned into the 10th Patrol Squadron.[115][116][117] In addition, the 10th Patrol Squadron has commissioned the two Jurrat-class missile boats based on the German-designed and two missile boat based on the from the Turkish design,
MRTP.[117] The Larkana-class gunboats are locally produced at the
KSEW Ltd. in Karachi that is in the current service with the Pakistan Navy, forming the Fast Patrol Craft Squadron.[118]
In addition to the Navy's operations of warships, the Navy operates coast guard ships intended for the Maritime Security Agency – most are imported from China while others are locally build to guard the Pakistan's seaborne borders from illegal activities, followed by the ten of the locally designed and built
patrol boats for the
Coast Guards for the safety and policing of the
beaches in the country.[119]
In 2017, the Pakistan Navy entered in discussion with the
Turkish Navy to acquire four of the
MILGEM-class warship, and eventually signing a major defence deal based on a technology transfer with Turkey on 5 July 2018, which was described as "the largest defense export of Turkey in one agreement."[120]
On 1 June 2018, Pakistan Navy ordered four Type 054As. The ships are expected to enter service by 2021.
The steel-cutting ceremony for the second Type 054A frigate for the Pakistan Navy (PN) was held in China on 19 December 2018, marking the beginning of construction of the vessel at the Hudong-Zhonghua shipyard in Shanghai, China.[citation needed]
On 1 November 2019, China's Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding held a steel cutting ceremony for the Pakistan Navy's third and fourth Type 054A frigates.[citation needed]
Pakistan Navy outgoing Chief of Naval Staff (CNS) Admiral Zafar Mahmood Abbasi said Navy will add more than 50 vessels, including 20 major ships, to its fleet as part of an ambitious modernisation plan to improve its capabilities. [citation needed]
Navy would operate four modified
Ada class corvette's from Turkey, two multi-purpose Yarmook class corvettes built by Dutch shipbuilder
Damen Shipyards and twenty fast attack missile boats.[121][122][123][124]
Established in 1964, the Submarine Command is a major component of the Navy whose primary mission is to conduct clandestine military
reconnaissance for
intelligence and carry out
precision strikes on enemy positions from underwater during war.[125][1][126]
The Agosta-class submarines are equipped with an air-independent propulsion system giving a capability of deeper dives and the ability to submerge for a longer period of time without detection.[128] They are armed with
Exocet and
Babur-III missiles, which can be launched from underwater.[129] Two of the three Agosta-90B class have undergone refitting and modernisation by the Turkish firm, STM.[129]
In 2014, Pakistan Navy entered in defence discussions with the
People's Liberation Army Navy for the procurement of the
Yuan-classAIP powered submarines, and eventually succeeded when the technology transfer agreement was signed between
two nations in April 2015. This
national submarine program is known as
Hangor-class submarine features air-independent propulsion is being constructed as a joint-venture with China with the expectation of being commissioned between 2023 and 2028.[130] In a direct response to
INS Arihant, the Pakistan Navy eventually succeeded getting the proposal approved for building the
nuclear-powered submarine whose delivery is expected to between 2028, according to the Pakistan Navy officials.[104]
Submarine training takes place at PNS Abdoze in Karachi. In May 2008, the Navy established the Fleet Acoustic Research and Classification Centre to validate submarine safety standards and to act as an underwater listening post to track unauthorised submarines.[132]
Auxiliaries, mine countermeasures, and amphibious warfare
In 1987, the Pakistan Navy commissioned
PNS Nasr, the
Fuqing-class, fleet tanker from China that was followed by the commissioning of
PNS Moawin (A20), of the
Poolster class, from the
Royal Netherlands Navy in 1988.[133] In 1995, Poolster-class PNS Moawin was subjected to a serious fire accident that claimed valuable life during the refitting of the vessel in Karachi.[135] The Navy also operates two coastal tankers that were indigenously designed and locally built at the
Karachi Shipyard— PNS Gwadar and PNS Kalmat— commissioned in 1984 and in 1992.[136] In 2011, the Navy commissioned two more small tankers/utility ships (STUS) —PNS Madadgar and PNS Rasadgar —to support the logistics and marine operations in the open sea.[137][138]
Auxiliaries, mine countermeasures, and amphibious warfare
In 1992, the Navy increased its operational capabilities in
mine countermeasures with the commissioning of
PNS Munsif from the
French Navy, followed by the technology transfer to Pakistan which led the commissioning of two more mine countermeasure vessels from
Munsif-class minehunter in 1996 and 1998.[139] Together with the Munsif-class minehunters and the replenishment oil tankers, these classes of ships are commissioned and complemented in the 9th Auxiliary Squadron.[133] In 2018, the Pakistan Navy commissioned another
PNS Moawin (A39) which was locally engineered and constructed from the crucial design guidance from Turkey – the fleet tanker is noted for being the largest
warship ever built in Pakistan.[140][141]
In 2011, the Pakistan Navy established the 21st Auxiliary Squadron to further support its fleet's logistics operations to fulfill the requirements of hydrological survey in the ocean, and the dredging operations in the
area of responsibility that includes the training requirements for the Pakistan Navy's personnel at the deeper ocean which is conducted by a dedicated Sail Training Vessel.[142] The 21st Auxiliary Squadron consists of
PNS Rah Naward, a
tall ship acquired from the
United Kingdom in 2010, PNS Behr Khusha, a
dredging vessel commissioned from China in 2008, and
PNS Behr Paima, that was commissioned from
Japan in 1983.[142][143][144][145]
The Aircraft in the Pakistan Navy provides the logistical support to the navy's readiness at all level of commands and serves as the supply platform, through helicopters, to conduct the
search and rescue,
special operations,
anti-submarine warfare (ASW), and the
anti-surface warfare (ASuW).[146] Unlike the
Indian Navy, the Pakistan Navy does not have the rapid
aircraft carrier based strike capability but relies its aerial strike operations from clear and traditionally long
landing platform built at the
Mehran Naval Air Station in Karachi.[147]: 66
After realising the failure to protect the harbour from the attacks of the
Indian Navy in 1971, the Navy took the research on using the aircraft on sea in an attempt to lessen the dependence on the
Pakistan Air Force, which already covers the airspace of Pakistan, and established the naval aviation branch, the
Naval Air Arm, in 1974.[146][148] whose initial pilot training takes place at the
Air Force Academy in
Risalpur.[149]
Current weapon systems in the Pakistan Navy is entirely composed and focused towards missiles, serving as both weapons or a defence from a threat.[152][153]
In 1971 with the Indian Navy's introduction of
anti-ship missiles, Navy had the strong emphasis on classically using the
artillery and
ammunition focusing towards the vintage tactics witnessed in the previous naval wars fought in the
World War II.[154]
The Navy's ground based air defence is entrusted with the Pakistan Marines who received their weapons training at the School of Infantry and Tactics in Quetta with the Pakistan Army.[98][155]
In 2016, the Navy inducted the
Harbahcruise missile, based on the
Babur design, that was test fired from the PNS Himmat– the
Azmat-class missile boat.[156] The Navy operates the
Zarb cruise missile that was first test fired on 10 April 2016.[157][158]
The cruise missiles system in the Navy, the
Harbah and
Babur–III are the variants and derivatives of the improved version of the first cruise missile that entered in the service of the
Pakistan Army— the
Babur cruise missile system.[159]
Mistral shoulder-fired surface-to-air missile, test fired on 25 December 2010 by Pakistan Marines.
The military uniform in the Pakistan Navy includes the full white-worn
service uniform as seen in the footage, and is worn on regular basis by the senior ranking star officers in the Navy.[160]: 295 In the past times of 1947–2012, the Navy's uniform had closely followed the uniforms issued in the British
Royal Navy with star officers often wearing the full white dress while the junior officers to enlisted members only wearing dressed-up blue working uniforms as their authorised working uniform in the vessels.[160]: 295
In 2014, the Navy working uniform pattern for all officials have been changed in favour of adopting the authorised digital camouflage pattern uniform which incorporates sparse black and medium grey shapes on a light grey background.[161]
After the Indian Navy's missile attacks in Karachi in 1971, the Navy concentrated on building and moving its operational assets in
Balochistan,
Punjab, and the
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.[87]
These naval bases are operationalised for various purposes including the logistics and maintenance support, armoury and ammunition support, air stations, military hospitals,
SEALs teams, coastal and missile defences, missile boats and submarine bases, forward operating bases etc.[87] The
PNS Zafar serves as the major logistics naval base for the Pakistani military's operational capability in the western and northern Pakistan, followed by the naval forward operating base constructed at the vicinity of the
Naval War College in Lahore.[164]
The primary naval air station is the
Naval Air Station Mehran (PNS Mehran), followed by the establishment of the naval air stations in
Makran,
Ormara,
Turbat and the
Manora Island.[165] In 2017, the PNS Siddiq was commissioned to support the aerial missions for the Navy's
Naval Aviation reconnaissance group to guard the safety of the
CPEC.[165]
Besides deployment within Pakistan, the Pakistan Navy, along with the inter-services branches, are permanently based in different parts in the
Saudi Arabia and the
United Arab Emirates.[169]
Unlike the army or air force where there are several paths to become the officers, there is only one way of becoming the naval officer by must attending the
Pakistan Naval Academy—after passing out the
boot camp in
Manora Island— for one-and-half year for them to be able to
passed out from the academy.[174]
The
passed out cadets gain
commission in the Navy as
midshipman, taking their first assignment in an open-sea ship that gives them the experience of life at sea while being trained in different careers on board.[174] The training of the
passed out midshipman usually lasts till six months before rotating back to the naval academy to be promoted as the
Sub-Lieutenants.[174] Their college education is provided by the Navy at the
Naval Engineering College in
Karachi for three years that led them to earn the
bachelor's degree in their choice of career.[174]
Besides the military officers, the Department of Navy also offers employments to civilians in financial management, accountancy, medical services, computing, and administration, and has currently employed ~2,000 civilians that met the Navy's quota in 2018.[176]
The recruitment and the enlistment in the navy is nationwide and the recruitment in the Navy is carried out by the release of the employment tender in the
print newspapers and
televised commercials twice a year– first group attending the boot camp in May and the second being directed on November.[178] The Directorate of Recruitment that is located in the
Navy NHQ in Islamabad controls the recruiting offices and centers in all over the country— the recruiting offices are located in
Punjab,
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa,
Sindh, and
Balochistan.[179] Before 1966, almost all the enlisted personnel and officers had to be sent to attend the military academies in the
United Kingdom to be educated and to be trained in technical branches for the Pakistan Navy.[21]: 90
After passing out from the nine-month long boot camp, the enlisted personnel are directed for subsequent job training at the
PNS Karsaz in Karachi on the matters of technical subjects and assigned for different branches in the Navy.[178]
Promotion in the Navy from the enlistment to officers ranks are much quicker than the army or the air force, as the Department of Navy offers financial aid to those enlisted personnel successful in their profession to attend the
colleges and universities.[178] Most of the enlisted personnel rarely stays in their enlisted ranks at the time of their retirement as most retires at junior officer ranks once reaching their retirement age of 62[21]: 90
Their technical experiences in their fields is consolidated into the professional training that forms their basis to attend the respective university for them to earn the four-year college degree.[178]
The
noncommissioned officers (or enlists) wear respective anchors color patches or badges chevrons on their shoulders.[178] Retirement age for the enlisted personnel varies and depends on the enlisted ranks that they have attained during their services.[178]
After the Navy was established in August 1947, the Navy had to send its officers and enlisted personnel to be trained at the
Britannia Royal Naval College in the
United Kingdom whose training and education by the British
Royal Navy was crucial at all levels of cadet's learning and schooling.[21][180]: 91 During its earliest time in 1947, the Department of Navy had only 3,800 personnel (200
officers, 3,000 Enlists, and 500 civilian employees) as the Navy faced the same problems as its
Department of Army as the most technical enlisted personnel and skilled executive officers were
Punjabi Muslims while others had
Urdu-speaking background (i.e.
Indian immigrants as naturalised citizens of Pakistan).[19]: 47
After 1971, the
Bhutto administration introduced the
quota system to give fair chance to the residents of
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and
Balochistan to enlist in the military.[61]: 75 In 2012, Sanhia Karim became the first
Balochi woman to be commissioned into the navy, she joined in a squad consisting of fifty-three female officers and seventy-two enlists from
Balochistan,
Pakistan.[181][better source needed] In 2012, the Navy pushed its personnel strength to Balochistan after sending a large formation of Baloch university students to Navy Engineering Colleges and War College as well as staff schools to complete their officer training requirements.[182] The Navy established three additional facilities in Balochistan to supervise the training to its personnel.[182]
Recruitment in the Navy remains to be challenge for the naval recruiters to enlists citizens and their selfless commitment to the military from the
urbanised metropolitan cities where the preference of
college education (especially attending
post-graduate schooling in the
United States and the
English-speaking countries) is much higher and strongly desirable.[19]: 80 Furthermore, the medical standards and education levels required by the Department of Navy to be able to perform technical jobs also poses significant challenges as the Navy requiring the significant percentage marks once the
matriculation examinations are concluded.[178]
The Navy has only one
boot camp, the
PNS Himalaya in
Manora Island, where the
basic military training takes place.[178] The basic military training at the
PNS Himalaya goes for nine-months where instructions on military life is given while the
physical conditioning is strongly emphasised.[183] Once completing the boot camp, the enlisted personnel are sent to attend the
Pakistan Naval Academy where their training lasts for year and half before they are able to
passed out from the Naval Academy.[21]: 93 [174] Once passing out, the commissioned junior officers must spend six-month deployment in
Indian Ocean before being selected to attend the professional schools, such as the
Naval Engineering College in Karachi, to move towards attaining the bachelor's degree in a period of four-years.[174]
As the estimates made in 2003 and 2009, the Navy had approximately ~30,200 active duty personnel.[184] In 2014, the estimates established the Navy's manpower strength at 30,700 active duty personnel.[185] but its combined manpower strength is increased and approximated at ~40,500 personnel based on recent estimates in 2018.[61]: 73
The Pakistan Navy offers the wide range of lucrative careers to the high school graduates in the technical fields by issuing specialised diplomas and certifications at the
PNS Karsaz and the PNS Bahadur, which consists of the schools of operations, underwater, surface weapons, communications, and the naval police.[178][186] Instructions and technical education on technical fields and the engineering are primarily taught at the
Pakistan Navy Engineering College that is open for both military and public admission, and offers college degree programs at undergraduate and post-graduate level.[187]
When the Navy was established in 1947, there was no technical schools for the Navy to look after the ship maintenance and
power machinery that led to the establishment of the Pakistan Naval Polytechnic Institute (PNPI) in 1951 and the
Navy Engineering College in 1962 whose admissions are open to public besides the military personnel.[188] From 1947 to 1967, the Navy had to rely on the education and training provided by the
Royal Navy at all levels of schooling, and had to send most of its officers and enlisted men to be trained at the
Britannia Royal Naval College at the
Dartmouth and the
Royal Naval College in Greenwich who were mostly trained in communication and navigation.[189] Training on the operations of warships and education on the
military staffing was crucial for the Pakistan Navy in the 1960s under the
United States-sponsored
International Military Education and Training (IMET) arranged for Pakistan under the
Security Assistance Program (SAP) as the U.S. Navy's officers served in the faculty of the engineering and technical schools of the Navy.[190]: 190 [self-published source?]
In 1968, the
Naval War College was established in
Lahore, whose curriculum is very similar to the
Naval War College in the
United States, is a primary military staff college which offers critical thinking techniques and developing ideas for naval warfare to the officers in the army and the air force.[191] In 1970, the
School of Logistics and Management was established that conducts research on military logistics and management in imparting
naval warfare techniques to the military officers serving in the army, air force, and marines departments of the Pakistani military.[192]
After the
1971 war with India, the Navy established several schools on strategy, naval warfare, and weapons tactics by commissioning the PNS Bahadur in 1981 as the navy established schools are listed below:
Established in 1971, the
National Defense University (NDU) in Islamabad is the most senior and premier institute of higher learning that provides the advance
critical thinking level and research-based
strategy level education to the senior military officers in the Pakistani military.[193]: 9–10 The NDU is a significant institution of higher learning in understanding the institutional norms of military tutelage in Pakistan because it constitutes the "highest learning platform where the military leadership comes together for common instruction", according to thesis written by Pakistani author Aqil Shah.[194]: 8 Without securing their
graduation from their master's program at the NDU, no officer in the Pakistani military can be promoted as general in the army or air force, or admiral in the navy or marines as it is a prerequisite for their promotion to become a senior member at the
Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee.[194]: 8–9
Additionally, the platform provided at the NDU represents a radical shift from the emphasis on operational and staff functions and the level of ranks are imposed as qualification to attend the
master's program at the NDU, usually
brigadiers,
air commodores, and
commodores, are invited to given admission in broad range of strategic, political, social, and economic factors as these factors affect the country's national security.[194]: 8–9 In this sense, the NDU becomes the critical thinking institution as its constitutes active-duty senior military officers corps' baptism into a shared ideological framework about the military's appropriate role, status, and behavior in relation to state and society, and shared values affect how these officers perceive and respond to civilian governmental decisions, policies, and political crises.[193]: 9–10 Admission to the NDU is not restricted to military officials, but civilians can also attend and graduate, allowing them to explore the broader aspects of national security.[194]: 8–9
Since then, the Navy's tradition and culture is commonly and uniquenly influenced from the
United States Navy.[61]: 73
After the promulgation of the
Constitution in 1956, the Navy gained its independence from the British
Royal patronage and became the federal institution of the armed forces commissioned by the elected
President of Pakistan. The prefix Royal was permanently removed from the Navy as well as disbanding the British monarch culture and tradition in the Navy.
The
naval jack and the ensign flag of the Navy immediately replaced the
Queen'scolours and the white ensign entirely, instead the dark blue color with the anchor crest of the Navy was adopted while the blue anchor was added in the side of the corner white colored section on the
national flag of Pakistan. Since then, the naval jack has always flown in the warships of the Pakistan Navy while the naval ensign of the Navy is commonly used by the
Pakistan Marines as their primary war flag.
The Pakistan Navy has played an integral part in the civil society of Pakistan, almost since its inception.[198] In 1996, General Jehangir Karamat described Pakistan armed forces' relations with the society:
In my opinion, if we have to repeat of past events then we must understand that Military leaders can pressure only up to a point. Beyond that their own position starts getting undermined because the military is after all is a mirror image of the civil society from which it is drawn.
— General Jehangir Karamat on civil society–military relations[198]
In 2010, the Navy coordinated one of its
largest relief operations during the
nationwide flash floods, with Navy divers rescuing and evacuating more than 352,291 people in August 2010.[206] In addition, the Navy and Marines personnel provided 43,850 kg of food and relief goods to flood victims; 5,700 kg of ready-to-cook food, 1,000 kg of dates and 5,000 kg of food has been dispatched to Sukkur.[207]As of January 2011[update], under the program PN Model Village, the Navy's civil engineering corps built the model houses in the affected areas for the
internally displaced person (IDPs).[208]
On 10 June 2018, Pakistan Navy and Maritime Security Agency rescued eleven
Iranian crew members on a sunken Iranian boat in the Northern
Arabian Sea, about 230 kilometres (140 mi) away from
Karachi.[209][210]
The Pakistan Navy has the wider commercial and financial interests in the country, and is a forerunner of the
Bahria Foundation (lit. Naval Foundation).[211] From 1996 to 2000, the Navy was a major sponsor of the
Bahria Town– the real estate enterprise – and reportedly received market shares for the use of its name in commercial building projects.[212] In 2002, the Navy filed a civil lawsuit to refrain the
Bahria Town using its name for profiteering – the lawsuit was eventually settled in civil court in favour of Navy in 2018.[212]
In a sharp contrast to the American
Medal of Honor, the Nishan-e-Haider (NH) has only conferred to the ones who have martyred and proved their distinguished valor of actions in an event of conflict or war— therefore the Nishan-e-Haider has never been conferred to the living military officers who are mostly conferred with the Hilal-e-Jurat or Sitara-e-Jurat.[218]: 5 [219]}
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^Correspondents, news agencies (10 September 2012).
"Pakistan Navy's shelling of Dwarka in 1965 War". www.thenews.com.pk. News International. News International.
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^Our Correspondents (13 March 2010).
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abAqil Shah, The Army and Democracy: Military Politics in Pakistan (Harvard University Press, 2014), pp. 8–9 Shah, Aqil (April 2014).
The Army and Democracy. Harvard University Press.
ISBN9780674728936.
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abcdShah, Aqil (2014). "§(Marching Toward Martial Law)".
The Army and Democracy(google books) (1st ed.). Cambridge, Mass. U.S.: Harvard University Press. p. 380.
ISBN9780674728936.
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^Zajda, Joseph; Tsyrlina-Spady, Tatyana; Lovorn, Michael (2016).
"(§War Heroes)"(google books). Globalisation and Historiography of National Leaders: Symbolic Representations in School Textbooks. Springer.
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^Warraich, Haider (2010).
Auras of the Jinn. Karachi, Pakistan: Roli Books Private Limited. p. 288.
ISBN9789351940036.
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Arabic: حَسْبُنَا اللَّهُ وَنِعْمَ الْوَكِيلُ Urdu: ہمارے لیے اللّٰہ کافی ہے اور وہ بہترین کارساز ہے۔ (
English: Allah is Sufficient for us - and what an excellent (reliable) Trustee (of affairs) is He!)[3] (Qur'an,
3:173)
The primary role of the Pakistan Navy is to defend Pakistan's sea frontiers from any external enemy attack.[6][7] In addition to its war services, the Navy has mobilized its
war assets to conduct
humanitarian rescue operations at home as well as participating in
multinational task forces mandated by the
United Nations to prevent seaborne terrorism and privacy off the coasts.[8][9]
Today is a historic day for Pakistan, doubly so for those of us in the Navy. The
Dominion of Pakistan has come into being and with it a new Navy – the Royal Pakistan Navy – has been born. I am proud to have been appointed to command it and serve with you at this time. In the coming months, it will be my duty and yours to build up our Navy into a happy and efficient force
The Pakistan Navy came into existence on 15 August 1947 with the
establishment of Pakistan as an independent state from the
United Kingdom.[17] The Armed Forces Reconstitution Committee (AFRC), under
Field MarshalSir Claude Auchinleck, the last British
Commander-in-Chief, India (C-in-C, India), divided the shares and assets of the
Royal Indian Navy (RIN) between India and Pakistan in a ratio of 2:1,[18]: conts. with Pakistan receiving the two
sloops, two
frigates, four minesweepers, two
naval trawlers and four harbour launches.[19]: 45–46 The Armed Forces Reconstitution Committee (AFRC) allocated about
two-thirds of the assets of the Royal Indian Navy to India while one third was given to the new
Dominion of Pakistan, despite Pakistan having inherited the high percentage of
delta areas on its coast and the large maritime area covering the
Arabian sea on the West and the
Bay of Bengal on the East.[20]: 90 In addition, India also objected to transfer any machinery at the
Bombay Dockyard to Pakistan and further refused to part the machinery that happened to be on its soil.[21]: 90
The Navy endured a difficult history— with only 200 officers and 3,000 sailors were inherited to the Navy – the most senior being
CaptainHMS Choudri who had little experience in the
military staffing.[19]: 45 Of the ~200 officers, twenty of these had come from the Executive Branch of the
Royal Indian Navy,[22] and only six officers were the
mechanical engineers while there were none
electrical engineers or
specialists to care for the electrical systems needed to be look after in the weapons systems or the
powering up the machinery in the vessels as whole.[19]: 47 The Navy suffered perennial problems with inadequate staff, lack of operational bases, lack of financial support, and poor technological and personnel resources.[19]: 45 Secondly, it grew out as the smallest
military uniform branch that contributed in its lack of importance in
federal budgets as well as the problems relating to its institutional infrastructure.[19]: 46
The
Army and the
Air Force were the dominant forces where the defence planning were based wholly on army and air force point of view.[19]: 46 Additional problems relating to the Navy were the lack of facilities and maintenance machinery, as the only
naval dockyard on the
subcontinent was located in
Bombay in
India.[19]: 46
To overcome these difficulties, the Navy had to launch a recruitment programme for the young nation, starting in
East Pakistan which proved to be very difficult to sustain the programme; therefore, it was moved back to
West Pakistan to concentrate recruitment on West Pakistan.[19]: 46 Furthermore, the Navy's procurement was greatly determined by its war role and it had to struggle for a role for itself throughout its history from its beginning.[23]: 66
The Navy's combat actions largely remained in absence during the
first war with
India in 1947–48 as all the fighting was restricted to
land and
aerial combat missions.[25]: 474 On operational planning, Captain HMS Choudri had engaged on commanding a former
RINdestroyer from
Karachi to
Bombay to oversee the evacuation of
Indian emigrants to Pakistan.[25]: 474 In 1948, the Royal Pakistan Navy had to engage in humanitarian missions to evacuate
Indian immigrants trapped in disputed and hostile areas, with its frigates operating continuously.[19]: 48
In 1950, the Navy's
nationalisation took place when many officers from the air force and army volunteered to join the navy and
NCOs gaining commission as an officers.[19]: 50–51 Support from the army and air force to the navy led to the establishment of logistics and maintenance machinery with vigorous efforts directed towards integrating the navy presence in
East Pakistan, thereby creating opportunities for people in East Pakistan to participate in the build-up.[19]: 51
In 1951, the
Pakistan government called for appointing native chiefs of the armed forces, but it was not until 1953 that a native navy chief was appointed.[19]: 51–52 The
British Admiralty, however, maintained the command of the Navy through Rear-Admiral Jefford who had native deputy chiefs of staff including
Commodore HMS Choudhri, Commodore Khalid Jamil, and
Commander M.A. Alavi.[19]: 51–52
During this time, a number of goodwill missions were carried out by the navy's warships, and non-combat missions were conducted under the auspices of the Royal Navy.[26] In 1951, HMS Choudhri's promotion papers as naval chief were approved by
Prime MinisterLiaquat Ali Khan but it was not until 1953 when HMS Choudhri was promoted as
vice admiral and commander with the support from
army commander-in-chief General
Ayub Khan.[19]: 52 He handed over the command of 25th Destroyer squadron to a
Polish naval officer, Commander
Romuald Nalecz-Tyminski.[27]
In February 1956, the British government announced the transfer of several major surface combat warships to Pakistan Navy, including a cruiser and four destroyers to be purchased with funds made available under the U.S.
Military Assistance Program.[19]: 54 In 1957, the Navy finalised the purchase of a
cruiser from the United Kingdom and used the government's own funds for the purchase which caused a great ire against Admiral Choudhri in the Finance Ministry.[19]: 55
In 1958, the Navy made an unsuccessful attempt to obtain
Neptun-class submarines from Sweden using the American security funds; it was halted by the United States and Pakistan's Finance Ministry despite the fact that the idea had support from
Army GHQ.[19]: 57 In 1958–59, the
Navy NHQ staff began quarrelling with the Army GHQ staff and the
Ministry of Defense (MoD) over plans regarding the modernisation of the navy that resulted in bitter
interservice rivalry between army and navy and ended with Admiral Choudri's resignation to the
Presidency in 1959.[19]: 57
Proposal of attaining the
aircraft carrier was deferred due to financial constraints, forcing Pakistan to move towards establishing the formidable submarine command.[30]: 108 From 1956 to 1963, two destroyers, eight coastal minesweepers, and an
oiler were procured from the United States and United Kingdom as a direct result of Pakistan's participation in the anti-Communist defence pacts
SEATO and
CENTO.[19]
War with India and subsequent war deployments (1965–1970)
After the bitter resignation of Vice-Admiral HMS Choudri in 1959, Vice-Admiral
Afzal Rahman Khan was appointed as the
Commander in Chief in Navy who worked towards building relations with President
Ayub Khan in retaining hopes for procuring a submarine despite financial constraints.[19]: 58–59 The Royal Navy accepted the long awaiting requests from the Pakistan Navy for a regular visit to
Karachi Naval Dockyard to provide first hand experience in submarine operations in 1960–61.[19]: 58 The
Ayub administration did not increase the financial funding of the navy at the expense to army and air force but he did not object to American contributions to train the Pakistan Navy in submarine operations.[19]: 59 It was the
U.S. Navy that provided an insightful and crucial training support to Pakistan Navy enabling it to conduct operations in long range in the
Indian Ocean and the proposal of procuring the submarine was met with favourable views in 1963 due to the prospect of the
Soviet Navy leasing a submarine to the
Indian Navy.[19]: 58 After seeing the U.S. contribution, the
United Kingdom decided to provide training and education to Pakistan Navy on submarine operations, and in 1964,
PNS Ghazi was commissioned from the United States under the
Security Assistance Program (SAP).[19]: 58
Even though, neither the Navy nor the Air Force was notified of the
Kashmir incursion in 1965, the Navy was well-prepared at the time when the
second war broke out between Pakistan and India in 1965.[19] The
naval chief Admiral
Afzal Rahman Khan ordered all war units of the Pakistan Navy to take up defensive positions off the coast, but did not order any offensive operations in the
Bay of Bengal.[19]: 60–61 As the
Indian Air Force's repeated sorties and raids disrupted
PAF operations, the Navy assumed a more aggressive role in the conflict.[19]: 61 On 2 September, the Navy deployed its first long-range submarine, PNS Ghazi under
CommanderK. R. Niazi which was charged with gathering intelligence on Indian naval movements that stalked the diverting threats posed by the aircraft carrier
INS Vikrant.[31]
On the night of 7/8 September, a naval squadron comprising four destroyers, one frigate, one cruiser, and one submarine, under the command of Commodore
S. M. Anwar, launched
artillery operation— an attack on the radar facilities used by the Indian Air Force in the small coastal town of
Dwarka.[31] The operation ended with limited damage to the area.[31] After gunnery bombardment,
Ghazi was deployed against the Indian Navy's
Western Naval Command at Bombay on 22 September and ended her operations and reported safely back to
Karachi Naval Dockyard on 23 September 1965.[31]
The Pakistan Navy explored the idea of installing Russian
missile system on former British frigates but Soviets refrained from doing so due to objections from India.[32]
After the war, the United States imposed an arms embargo on Pakistan and Pakistani military began exploring options for military procurement from China, France, and Soviet Union.[19]: 62 The United Kingdom offered the Navy to jointly built the
Type 21 frigate but was rejected by Ayub administration that would only allow the financial capital to be spent on submarine procurement.[19]: 63
In 1966, the Pakistan Navy established its own
special operations force, the
Navy Special Service Group (Navy SSG) after the recommendations from the
United States Navy.[33] In 1966–70, Pakistan Navy had been well aware of massive
procurement and acquisitions of
weapon systems being acquired from the
Soviet Union and
United Kingdom, and the danger it will posed to Pakistan.[19]: 63 In 1966–69, there were series of unsuccessful talks of acquiring the warships from the Soviet Navy which ended with no yielding results.[19]: 63 The Soviet Union offered to sell their
Osa-class missile boat but Pakistan Navy wanted the
Styx missiles to be installed in frigates in a believe that the missile boats were not big enough to meet the Pakistani requirements in operating in the
Indian Ocean.[19]: 63 The Russians later determined to their strategic interests lay with India and allowed the developing relationship with Pakistan to wither.[32]: 283–288
Difficulties arose between and after the arms embargo was lifted by the United States which lifted based strictly on
cash-and-carry basis.[19]: 63 Pleas for strengthening the Navy in
East Pakistan were ignored due to monetary issues and financial constraints restricted the Navy's capabilities to function more efficiently.[19]: 63 In 1968, the
Daphné-class submarines were procured from France while operating
Tench-class submarines that was refitted and upgraded by the
Turkish Navy.[19]: 63 Due to the Egyptian blockade of the
Suez Canal, the Navy had to execute a notable submerged
circumnavigation operation from the Indian Ocean through the
Atlantic Ocean in order to undergo a refit program at the
Gölcük Naval Shipyard in Turkey which was the only facility to manage the
refitting and
mid-life upgrades of
military computers of the Tench class.[34] Despite reservations harboring by the Navy NHQ about the ageing Ghazi, she was sailed under the command of Commander
Ahmed Tasnim starting from the
Karachi coast in Indian Ocean to
Cape of Good Hope,
South Africa, through the Atlantic Ocean and ended at the east coast of the
Sea of Marmara where the Gölcük Naval Shipyard was located.[34]
In 1968–69, the Navy NHQ staff began its tussle with the
AHQ staff over the issue establishing the
naval aviation who feared the loss of fighter jets and their pilots in the sea and was hostile towards this idea.[19]: 63 The United States entered in discussing the transfer of
P3B Orion aircraft to the Navy in 1970 with
Yahya administration but were not procured until the end of the 1970s.[19]: 63 In 1970, the
foreign relations between Pakistan and East Pakistan further deteriorated and the Navy knew that it was impossible to defend East Pakistan from approaching Indian Navy.[19]: 63 Series of reforms were carried when Navy's serious reservations were considered by the Yahya administration and
East Pakistanis were hastily recruited in what was known as
Eastern Naval Command (Pakistan) but this proved to be disaster for Navy when majority of Bengali naval officers and ~3,000 sailors
defected to India to join the
Awami League's military wing– the Mukti Bahini.[19]: 64–65 Such events had jeopardised the operational scope of the Navy and the Navy NHQ staffers and commanders knew very well that it (Navy) was ill-prepared for the war and Pakistan was about to learn the consequences of disconnecting strategy from reality.[19]: 65
By 1971, the Navy NHQ staffers and their commanders knew very well that the Pakistan Navy was poorly represented in East Pakistan (now
Bangladesh) and there was no main infrastructure to conduct defensive operation against the
Eastern Naval Command of Indian Navy in
Bay of Bengal.[19]: 64 The Navy was only able conducted the
riverine-based operations that was being undertaken by the
Pakistan Marines with the assistance from the
Navy Special Service Group, code named,
Barisal, in April 1971.[17] Although, the Governor of East Pakistan, Vice-Admiral
S.M. Ahsan, made efforts to increase the naval presence and significance in 1969 but the Indian Navy's Eastern Naval Command continued to pose a significant threat since it had capability of conduct operations in long-range areas.[35]
Furthermore, the defections from Navy's Bengali officers and sailors had jeopardise the Navy's operational scope who went onto join the
Awami League's militant wing, the Mukti Bahini in a program known as Jackpot.[35] Though, the program was disrupted by the Navy from further annihilation but the naval facilities were severely damaged due to this operation on 15 March 1971.[35] East-Pakistan's geography was surrounded by India on all three landward sides by the
Indian Army as the Navy was in attempt to prevent India from blocking the coasts.[35]
During this time, the Navy NHQ was housed in Karachi that decided to deploy the newly
MLUGhazi submarine on East while
Hangor in West for the intelligence gathering purposes.[35]
At the end of East-Pakistan crisis.... We (Eastern Command) had no intelligence and hence, were both deaf and blind with the Indian Navy and Indian Air Force pounding us day and night....
— Admiral Mohammad Sharif, to U.S. Admiral
Zumwalt in 1971[36]
With no naval aviation branch to guard the
Karachi port, the Indian Navy breached the seaborne borders of Pakistan and successfully launched the
first missile attack, consisting of three Soviet-built
Osa-classmissile boats escorted by two
anti-submarine patrol vessels on 4 December 1971.[37] Nearing Karachi's port area, the Indian Navy's squadron launched
Styx missiles anti-ship missiles, which the obsolescent Pakistani warships had no viable defence against.[37] Two of the warships,
PNS Muhafiz and
PNS Khaibar, were sunk, while
PNS Shahjahan was damaged beyond repair.[37] After the attacks, the Indian Navy's missile boat squadron safely returned to its home base without sustaining any damages.[37]
On 8 December 1971,
Hangor commanded by its
CommanderAhmed Tasnim, sank the Indian frigate
INS Khukri off the coast of Gujarat, India— this was the first sinking of a warship by a submarine since
World War II, and resulted in the loss of eighteen officers and one-seventy six sailors of the Indian Navy while the inflicting severe damages to another warship, INS Kirpan, by the same submarine.[38] The
Pakistan Air Force now covering for Karachi made several of the unsuccessful attempts to engage the Indian Navy's missile boat squadron by carrying out the aerial bombing missions over the
Okha Harbor– the forward base of the Indian Navy's missile boat squadron.[37] The Indian Navy retaliated with a
second missile attack on Pakistan's coast on the night of 8 December 1971 when a small
flotilla of Indian vessels, consisting of a missile boat and two frigates, approached Karachi and launched a missile attack that sank the Panamanian
cargo shipGulf Star, PNS Dacca and the British merchant ship SS Harmattan were damaged.[37]
The missile-based attacks were the complete success for the Indian Navy, and a psychological trauma for Pakistan Navy, the human and material cost severely cutting into its combat capability, nearly 1,700 sailors perished at the barracks.[39]
The
commercial pilots from the
Pakistan International Airlines volunteered to conduct air surveillance missions with the
Pakistan Air Force, but this proved less than helpful when the Pakistan Navy's forward observer team, led by
Cdre.A. W. Bhombal misidentified their own larger frigate,
PNS Zulfiqar, as an Indian missile boat, giving clearance to the
F-86 fighter jets of the
Pakistan Air Force which made several attack runs before finally identifying Zulfiqar by the Navy NHQ.[39] This serious
friendly fire incident resulted in further loss of navy personnel, as well as the loss of the ship, which was severely damaged and the Pakistan Navy's operational capabilities were now virtually extinct, and morale plummeted.[39] The Indian Navy observers who watched the raid nearby later wrote in their
war logs that the "PAF pilots failed to recognize the difference between a large PNS Zulfiqar frigate and a relatively small Osa missile boat."[39] The PAF, however, contested this claim by holding Cdre. Bhombal of the responsibility of misidentifying his own warship and giving clearance to the PAF to mount an attack on their own ship.[39][40]
The Navy's only long range submarine, Ghazi, was deployed to the area but, according to neutral sources, it sank en route under mysterious circumstances.[41] Pakistani authorities state that it sank either due to internal explosion or detonation of mines which it was laying at the time.[42] The Indian Navy claims to have sunk the submarine.[43][44][45][46]
The submarine's destruction enabled the Indian Navy to enforce a blockade on then East Pakistan.[47] According to the defence magazine, Pakistan Defence Journal, the attack on Karachi, Dhaka, Chittagong and the loss of Ghazi, the Navy no longer was able to match the threat of Indian Navy as it was already outclassed by the Indian Navy after the 1965 war.[37]
The damage inflicted by the Indian Navy and
Indian Air Force on the Navy stood at seven
gunboats, one minesweeper, two destroyers, three
patrol craft, eighteen cargo, supply and communication vessels, and large-scale damage inflicted on the naval base and docks in the coastal town of Karachi.[37] Three merchant navy ships; Anwar Baksh, Pasni and Madhumathi;[48] and ten smaller vessels were captured.[49] Around 1,900 personnel were lost, while 1413 servicemen (mostly officers) were captured by Indian forces in
Dhaka.[50] The Indian Navy lost 18 officers and 176 sailors[38][51] and a frigate, while another frigate was damaged and a
Breguet Alizé naval aircraft was shot down by the
Pakistan Air Force.[37]
According to one Pakistan scholar,
Tariq Ali, the Pakistan Navy lost half its force in the war.[52] Despite the limited resources and manpower, the Navy performed its task diligently by providing support to inter-services (air force and army) until the end.[53]
According to the testimony provided by the
AdmiralMohammad Shariff in 2015, the primary reason for this loss has been attributed to the High Command's failure in defining a role for the Navy, or even considering Navy as military in general.[53] Since then the Navy has sought to improve the structure and fleet by putting special emphasis on sub-surface warfare capability as it allows for the most efficient way to deny the control of Pakistani sea lanes to an adversary.[53] In a thesis written by Dr.
P. I. Cheema in 2002,
Ayub Khan, who had enjoyed considerable influence on Pakistan's national politicians, did not fully understood the Navy as a
military service or neither comprehend the importance of safeguarding the
sea lines of communication, which prevented the development of the Navy as a potent force as it should have in the 1970s.[21]: 93
Restructuring and building towards modern Navy: 1972–1989
After
1971 war, steps were taken to modernise and increase the operational scope of the Navy.[19][21]: 103 : 65 Unlike the army or the air force, the naval officers were able to continue their military service with the Navy, and their promotions were relatively quicker than other military branches in 1972–74.[19]: 141
In 1974, the
Naval Aviation branch was established with the transfer of the
Westland Sea King helicopters from the
United Kingdom in 1975, followed by test firing the
surface-to-shipExocet missile as a
befitting response to the Indian Navy in 1979.[54] With the ability to fire the land-based Exocet missile from a reconnaissance aircraft, the Navy became the first of its kind in the
South Asia to acquire land-based ballistics missile capable long range reconnaissance aircraft.[59]: 77
In 1976, the Navy moved towards successfully acquiring the military computers from the British firm, the
Ferranti, to increase its defence's for its coastlines.[54] The
War Enquiry Commission noted the lack of strategic communication and the
grand strategy between the four-branches of the military during the
conflict and wars with India, recommending the establishment of the
Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee to maintain strategic military communication between the inter-services and the federal government, that is to be chaired by the appointed
Chairman joint chiefs as the government's principal military adviser.[19]: 140 In 1976, Navy saw its first
four-star rank admiral when
Mohammad Shariff was promoted to this rank, and later becoming the first admiral to be appointed as the
Chairman of
Joint Chiefs Committee in 1977.[53][60]: 372 In 1977, the United States reportedly transferred the two
refittedGearing-class destroyer to the Pakistan Navy, which were much superior to the British frigates, followed by obtaining more destroyers from the U.S. Navy in 1982–83.[19]: 142
During this time, the Navy to diversify its procurement with defence deals made with
China,
France, and the United Kingdom but the dependence grew on China when the Navy acquired the anti-submarine warships that gave the Navy credible sea-denial capability.[61] In 1979, the France offered to sell their
Agosta-70A-class submarine and was immediately acquired which were commissioned as
Hurmat and
Hashmat.[34] Induction of the Agosta-70A class gave Pakistan Navy a
depth advantage over the Indian Navy, and gave the Navy an ability to conduct operations in deeper
Indian Ocean at wider range.[61][19][62]: 143
In 1982, the
Reagan administration submitted the proposal of
US$3.2 billion aid for Pakistan that was aimed towards economic uplift and security assistance to the
United States Congress as the Navy entered in successful negotiation of obtaining the
Harpoon system, despite the strong Indian lobby opposing and objecting of this deal.[19]: 144 In 1985, the Navy bought the
Mirage 5V aircraft for the naval role and were equipped with the
Exocet A39 missile that gives the capability of sea denial to the Pakistan Navy.[19]: 144 With the induction of the missile systems, long-range and depth endurance submarines, missiles destroyers, fighter aircraft, and establishment of the
Pakistan Maritime Security Agency, the Pakistan Navy eventually ended the Indian Navy's control over the Indian Ocean, and the Indian Navy's confidence that it could contain the Pakistan Navy at shorelines.[19]: 145
Eventually, the Pakistan Navy began its wartime deployment in
Middle Eastern countries through the
Persian Gulf and deployed its war assets in Saudi Arabia in support of the U.S. Navy's fleet in wake of the events involving the
Iran–Iraq War and
tensions with Libya.[19]: 145 In 1982, the Reagan administration approved
US$3.2 billion military and economic aid to Pakistan with Pakistan acquiring eight
Brooke and
Garcia-class frigates from the United States Navy on a five-year lease in 1988.[53] A
depot for repairs,
USS Hector followed the lease of these ships in April 1989. This was done due to the
Zia administration's
co-operation with the
Reagan administration against the Soviet Union's
invasion in Afghanistan.[53]
Self reliance, engagement and covert operations (1990–1999)
After the Russian
troops withdrawal from
Afghanistan in 1989, the
Bush administration imposed the
arms embargo on Pakistan by uncovering the existence of the covert
atomic bomb program to the United States Congress, which ultimately refrained the transfer of the maritime patrol aircraft, missile systems, and defence software on 1 October 1990.[53] With the expiration of the lease of the
Garcia and
Brooke-class guided missile frigates, the Navy had to return the frigates to the United States that were sold to India for scrapped metals, and Navy to faced the problems for adequate funding towards the modern Navy.[19]: 185 The embargo seriously impaired the Navy's operational scope and paralysed its ability to operate in the
Indian Ocean, since the Navy's
fleet was composed of entirely the former U.S.-built warships.[19]: 185
Since 1987, the Pakistan Navy had been interested in acquiring the
Type 21 frigates from the
United Kingdom, and the Navy turned to the
Royal Navy for an immediate purchase which was approved in 1993 whose expensive refitting and technological upgrades had to carried out by Pakistan itself at their
Naval Base in Karachi over the years.[19]: 185 In 1994, the Pakistan Navy entered in
lengthy, complicated, and controversial negotiation with France to acquire the long-range submarine technology by dismissing the idea of procuring
nuclear-powered submarine from China due to noise issue that the Indian Navy was quiet able to track.[19]: 183–185 [64] Despite embargo, the United States Navy maintained its relations with Pakistan Navy, inviting the Pakistanis to participate in the Inspired Siren in 1994, and gave the Pakistan Navy instructions and run down on the nuclear submarine and aircraft carrier operations.[19]: 185 In an attempt to warm the political relations with the United States, the Pakistani military joined the
U.S. actions in the
Somali Civil War, conducting
wartime patrol in the Somali coast.[65][54]
In 1994, the Navy was
deployed in support of the U.S. Navy and extended its support in 1995 to participate in
Operation United Shield to conclude its side of operation after evacuating personnel and equipment of the
army,
marines, and air force.[66] By 1996, the Brown amendment was introduced that allowed the uplifting of the embargo on Pakistan, allowing the transfer of the maritime patrol aircraft to the Navy.[19]: 185
On 10 August 1999, a serious incident took place in
Sir Creek region when the Indian Air Force shot down the
Naval Aviation aircraft that resulted in deaths of 16 naval personnel, mostly officers.[69]: 62 On 29 August 1999, another aircraft of the Navy,
P3C Orion, was lost due to an accident with the loss of twenty one lives.[70]: 537 [71][72]
Over the issue of the Indian Air Force's shot down of the aircraft, the Navy filed a lawsuit against the Indian Air Force at the
International Court of Justice, but the claim was later dismissed due to over-reaching of the court's mandate.[69]: 62–63 [73]
Pakistan fully endorse the requirements of a strong navy, capable of safeguarding Pakistan's sea frontiers and her Lines of Communication, monitoring and protecting her exclusive economic zone. Continuous efforts are at hand to provide the best available equipment to the Navy despite all economic constraints.
After his incident in 1999, another proposal was raised to switched the
air-independent propulsion of Agosta submarine to substitute with
nuclear propulsion, however the proposal was dismissed.[68]
War on Terror in Afghanistan and operations in North-West (2001–present)
After the
9/11 terrorist attacks in the
United States, the sanctions on Pakistan were eventually uplifted, allowing the Navy to procure the U.S.-built weapon systems and warships to regain its ability to operate in the Indian Ocean as it became involved in war preparations during the
standoff with India in 2001–02.[68] In 2001, the Navy took serious consideration of deploying the
nuclear weapons on its submarines although none of the nuclear weapons were ever deployed in the submarines.[64]
In 2003–04, there were several proposals made for acquiring the vintage
aircraft carriers but the Navy itself had dismissed the idea since the country has not aspired to have an aircraft capability.[74]: 79 In 2002–03, the Pakistan Navy deployment took place in the Indian Ocean, participating in the naval drills to combat terrorism from seaborne platforms, and eventually entered in defence negotiations with China for acquiring the technology to designing and building the guided missile frigates— the
F-22P guided missile frigates were eventually built it in 2006–15.[54]
Since 2004, the Navy's deployment took place in Indian Ocean, playing a crucial role in the multinational
NAVCENT in
Bahrain, and took the leadership of the
CTF-150 and
CTF-151 as well as taking active participation in the
Operation Enduring Freedom in 2006–10.[75][76][77] In 2008, the task force group consisting of
PNS Badr,
PNS Shah Jahan,
PNS Nasr, and the Pakistan Air Force's Explosive Ordnance Disposal participated in the Exercise Inspired Union with the U.S. Navy in the Indian Ocean to develop skills in a prevention of seaborne terrorism.[78]
Despite its
seaborne mission, the Navy had played an active role in controlling the insurgency in
former tribal belt in
Western Pakistan, mostly taking roles in managing
logistics and
intelligence gathering as well as conducting ground operations with the army in Western areas to track down the
al-Qaeda operatives.[79] From 2010 to 2011, the Navy was in a brief direct conflict with the violent
TTP group and
al-Qaeda, and its Naval Intelligence was able to track down the infiltrated militants within the ranks of the Navy.[80][81]
In 2015, the Navy was deployed in support of the
Saudi-led blockade of Yemen after accepting the request from the
Saudi Arabia.[82] As of current, the Navy continues increase its operational scope in the Indian Ocean and reportedly successfully entering in defence talks with Turkey to jointly built the
MILGEM project in Pakistan in 2018–2019 while it had earlier announced to start the building the program of the
nuclear submarine for its current operational capabilities in 2013.[83]
Organization, Naval Headquarters
Principal Staff Commands and Principal Staff Officers
The war functions of the Navy is controlled from the single combat headquarters, the
Navy NHQ, located in
Islamabad at vicinity of the
Joint Staff Headquarters and the
Army GHQ in
Rawalpindi Cantonment in
Punjab in
Pakistan.[86] The Chief of Naval Staff controls and commands the Navy at all levels of operational command, and is assisted by number of
Principal Staff Officers (PSOs) (Staff Commanders) who are commissioned at the three-star rank and two-star rank admirals. The Staff Appointments marked in the light goldish yellow color are the most important seats at NHQ which play a very important administrative role for the proper functioning of the Pakistan Navy and its assets.[86]
Due to the influence from the
Royal Navy and later by the
United States Navy since its earliest inception, the Pakistan Navy has a unique command structure and the navy's functionality is divided in various branches.[61]
There are seven military staff commands in the navy that are in fact administrative, directed by the several appointed
Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff (DCNS) and often assisted by the
Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff (ACNS) holding the rank of commodore a one-star rank senior officer reporting directly to their respective
Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff (DCNS).[61]: 73 The Deputy Chiefs Of Naval Staff are usually holding either the
two-star or
three-star ranks.[61]: 73 The each and appointed Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff head or commander of their respected branch reports directly to the
Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS) at
Navy NHQ in Islamabad of their respected command.
The military administration of the Navy under the
Naval Chief based in the
Navy NHQ includes its Principal Staff Commands and Principal Staff Officers:
Each branch in the navy offers specialisation and officers interested in joining the particular service have to pass aptitude tests before attending the specialised school that usually last for two to three years, in which the officer is able to attain a college degree.[87][88]
Since its restructuring and reorganisation over the several years, the Pakistan Navy now operates eight operational and tactical field commands and also two major type commands, two of the important commands of aviation and submarines are reporting directly to the senior Pakistan Fleet Command.[86] Each command is headed by a senior flag officer who usually holds a ranks of
three-star rank:
Vice-Admiral and
two-star rank:
Rear-Admiral.[86] The appointment to the senior
fleet commander known as s
Commander, Pakistan Fleet leads the navy's entire fleet with a responsibility of deploying the entire combat formations of the navy.[61]: 73
Geographically, there are three administrative commanders, such as Commander Karachi (COMKAR),
Commander Central Punjab (COMCEP), and Commander Northern (COMNOR), who administer the bulk of naval installations, offshore establishments, and training facilities besides the seven oceanic based commands.[61]: 73
The war-fighting command responsible for operational deployments of the Surface, Submarine, and Aviation Commands to ensure the
operational readiness and assurances of the Navy.
Directs the Naval Depots Command to oversee all the naval supplies and materials being stored and distributed in the Pakistan Navy and reporting directly to COMLOG
The Navy Special Service Group is headquartered at
PNS Iqbal in Karachi where the physical conditioning and weapon tactics training take place.[94] The Navy Special Service Group's specialisation further includes training and mastery in the
visit, board, search, and seizure methods,
naval interdiction, and
security operations to prevent seaborne-based terrorism.[95]
The Navy Special Service Group is a tighter unit composed of highly qualified and selected personnel who are modelled on and inspired by the
U.S. Navy SEALs training and tradition.[94] The actual number of personnel of Navy Special Service Group is classified and their deployment are also subjected to
classified information.[94]
In 1970–71, the Navy established the
Pakistan Marines to support the
amphibious warfare operations and were initially influenced by the
United States Marines Corps but the Marines component was decommissioned by the federal government in 1974.[96] On 14 April 1990, the Pakistan Marines were again recommissioned in the Navy with about 2,000 personnel.[97] The advanced training of the Marines are often takes place with the
Pakistan Army at their School of Infantry and Tactics in Quetta in Balochistan.[98]
The
1st Marines Battalion, the special operation unit, of the Pakistan Marines is specifically trained by the Pakistan Army to conduct infiltration and
anti-aircraft warfare operations. The 1st Battalion is currently deployed in
Sir Creek.[99]
Military philosophy
Combat doctrine
The military doctrine and philosophy of the Pakistan Navy is primarily directed towards preventing the
Indian Navy repeating the 1971 blockade of the Pakistani coasts.[86] From 1947 until 1971, the Pakistan Navy was effectively little more than a
coast guard because the Government of Pakistan did not give importance to the strategy of protecting the
sea lines of communication.[61]: 68 In 1971, the
Indian Navy ultimately played a decisive role by enforcing a blockade of
Chittagong and
Karachi, the only maritime outlets of
East Pakistan and
West Pakistan respectively. The Navy was unable to break the blockade leading to Pakistan's economic and military resources being severely drained and communication was limited between the two wings of the country. Subsequently, the
federal government increased the funding of the Navy.[21]: 97–98 [102]: 94
Since 1971 the Navy tactical doctrine has included the acquisition, development, employment, and aggressive deployment of the long-range and
depth reaching submarines in an effort to target and destroy its adversaries by attacking surface warships before reaching the country's ports.[86] The
mining of the Karachi's harbour is also taken as a serious consideration of preventing the enemy from launching the missile attacks in the port city of Karachi.[86]
In 1983–85, the Navy commissioned the
Dassault Mirage 5 from
France whose weapon system included the naval variant of the
Exocet missiles and are aimed towards engaging the Indian Navy's aircraft out to 500 kilometres (310 mi) in the
Indian Ocean.[86][103]
The routine deployment of the surface fleet as part of the
Combined Task Forces provides the opportunity to the safeguard the sealines of communications.[86] Since 1999, the
Pakistan Marines's special reconnaissance forces has been deployed in the
Sir Creek region are aimed towards offshore protection against the incursions from the Indian Army's
Para Commandos from the sea while taking the initiatives of deployment of the special forces groups behind the enemy lines through insertion by the
HALO/HAHO airdrop or by using the midget submarines.[86]
Responding to the development of the
INS Arihant, the Pakistan Navy reportedly announced the launch of the nuclear powered submarine program to counter the submarine threat in 2012.[104]
The Navy eventually pushed for attaining the naval-based nuclear
second-strike capability in 2017 when the
ISPR announced the Pakistan Navy's to have attained the sea-based second strike capability when it launched the nuclear
SLCM based on the
Babur cruise missile, though the range of the SLCM remains to be at the short range.[105]
USS McInerney in 2004. She is now known as PNS Alamgir after a major refit and overhaul in 2010.
The names of the commissioned warship and noncombat vessels of the Pakistan Navy are prefixed with the capital letters "PNS"— the Pakistan Navy Ship.[86] The naming convention of the ship are selected by the
Ministry of Defense, often honouring the important people or places in the history of Pakistan, and then commissioned by the
President of Pakistan.[106][107][108]
The Surface Fleet, established in 1947, is a pivotal component of the Navy with crucial role in maintaining the military balance with the
Indian Navy in the
Indian Ocean, taking part in multinational task forces to prevent seaborne terrorism and piracy.[109]
The Navy currently operates approximately 100 vessels including ones used by the Maritime Security Agency (MSA) and
Pakistan Marines.[86] In the current inventory, the Navy has a combination of Turkish, American, Chinese and locally produced ships including the American
Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigate, Turkish-designed
Babur class, and locally-built
Zulfiquar-class frigate (built with Chinese assistance). Decommissioning of the ageing
Tariq class destroyer has been completed after the construction of additional missile guided
Zulfiquar-class frigates in Pakistan by 2021 and the acquisition of the
Type 054A frigates from China that started in 2017.[110][111][112][113]
In 1992, the
French Navy transferred its
Tripartite-class minehunter and helped designed the
Munsif-class minehunters in Pakistan as a local production that increased the Pakistan Navy's operational scope and its overall capabilities.
In 2011, the Navy commissioned the
Azmat-class corvette based on the Chinese design of
Type 037II Houjian missile boat with the lead boat being designed in China while three remaining were built in Pakistan through the technology transfer agreement– these missile boats are commissioned into the 10th Patrol Squadron.[115][116][117] In addition, the 10th Patrol Squadron has commissioned the two Jurrat-class missile boats based on the German-designed and two missile boat based on the from the Turkish design,
MRTP.[117] The Larkana-class gunboats are locally produced at the
KSEW Ltd. in Karachi that is in the current service with the Pakistan Navy, forming the Fast Patrol Craft Squadron.[118]
In addition to the Navy's operations of warships, the Navy operates coast guard ships intended for the Maritime Security Agency – most are imported from China while others are locally build to guard the Pakistan's seaborne borders from illegal activities, followed by the ten of the locally designed and built
patrol boats for the
Coast Guards for the safety and policing of the
beaches in the country.[119]
In 2017, the Pakistan Navy entered in discussion with the
Turkish Navy to acquire four of the
MILGEM-class warship, and eventually signing a major defence deal based on a technology transfer with Turkey on 5 July 2018, which was described as "the largest defense export of Turkey in one agreement."[120]
On 1 June 2018, Pakistan Navy ordered four Type 054As. The ships are expected to enter service by 2021.
The steel-cutting ceremony for the second Type 054A frigate for the Pakistan Navy (PN) was held in China on 19 December 2018, marking the beginning of construction of the vessel at the Hudong-Zhonghua shipyard in Shanghai, China.[citation needed]
On 1 November 2019, China's Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding held a steel cutting ceremony for the Pakistan Navy's third and fourth Type 054A frigates.[citation needed]
Pakistan Navy outgoing Chief of Naval Staff (CNS) Admiral Zafar Mahmood Abbasi said Navy will add more than 50 vessels, including 20 major ships, to its fleet as part of an ambitious modernisation plan to improve its capabilities. [citation needed]
Navy would operate four modified
Ada class corvette's from Turkey, two multi-purpose Yarmook class corvettes built by Dutch shipbuilder
Damen Shipyards and twenty fast attack missile boats.[121][122][123][124]
Established in 1964, the Submarine Command is a major component of the Navy whose primary mission is to conduct clandestine military
reconnaissance for
intelligence and carry out
precision strikes on enemy positions from underwater during war.[125][1][126]
The Agosta-class submarines are equipped with an air-independent propulsion system giving a capability of deeper dives and the ability to submerge for a longer period of time without detection.[128] They are armed with
Exocet and
Babur-III missiles, which can be launched from underwater.[129] Two of the three Agosta-90B class have undergone refitting and modernisation by the Turkish firm, STM.[129]
In 2014, Pakistan Navy entered in defence discussions with the
People's Liberation Army Navy for the procurement of the
Yuan-classAIP powered submarines, and eventually succeeded when the technology transfer agreement was signed between
two nations in April 2015. This
national submarine program is known as
Hangor-class submarine features air-independent propulsion is being constructed as a joint-venture with China with the expectation of being commissioned between 2023 and 2028.[130] In a direct response to
INS Arihant, the Pakistan Navy eventually succeeded getting the proposal approved for building the
nuclear-powered submarine whose delivery is expected to between 2028, according to the Pakistan Navy officials.[104]
Submarine training takes place at PNS Abdoze in Karachi. In May 2008, the Navy established the Fleet Acoustic Research and Classification Centre to validate submarine safety standards and to act as an underwater listening post to track unauthorised submarines.[132]
Auxiliaries, mine countermeasures, and amphibious warfare
In 1987, the Pakistan Navy commissioned
PNS Nasr, the
Fuqing-class, fleet tanker from China that was followed by the commissioning of
PNS Moawin (A20), of the
Poolster class, from the
Royal Netherlands Navy in 1988.[133] In 1995, Poolster-class PNS Moawin was subjected to a serious fire accident that claimed valuable life during the refitting of the vessel in Karachi.[135] The Navy also operates two coastal tankers that were indigenously designed and locally built at the
Karachi Shipyard— PNS Gwadar and PNS Kalmat— commissioned in 1984 and in 1992.[136] In 2011, the Navy commissioned two more small tankers/utility ships (STUS) —PNS Madadgar and PNS Rasadgar —to support the logistics and marine operations in the open sea.[137][138]
Auxiliaries, mine countermeasures, and amphibious warfare
In 1992, the Navy increased its operational capabilities in
mine countermeasures with the commissioning of
PNS Munsif from the
French Navy, followed by the technology transfer to Pakistan which led the commissioning of two more mine countermeasure vessels from
Munsif-class minehunter in 1996 and 1998.[139] Together with the Munsif-class minehunters and the replenishment oil tankers, these classes of ships are commissioned and complemented in the 9th Auxiliary Squadron.[133] In 2018, the Pakistan Navy commissioned another
PNS Moawin (A39) which was locally engineered and constructed from the crucial design guidance from Turkey – the fleet tanker is noted for being the largest
warship ever built in Pakistan.[140][141]
In 2011, the Pakistan Navy established the 21st Auxiliary Squadron to further support its fleet's logistics operations to fulfill the requirements of hydrological survey in the ocean, and the dredging operations in the
area of responsibility that includes the training requirements for the Pakistan Navy's personnel at the deeper ocean which is conducted by a dedicated Sail Training Vessel.[142] The 21st Auxiliary Squadron consists of
PNS Rah Naward, a
tall ship acquired from the
United Kingdom in 2010, PNS Behr Khusha, a
dredging vessel commissioned from China in 2008, and
PNS Behr Paima, that was commissioned from
Japan in 1983.[142][143][144][145]
The Aircraft in the Pakistan Navy provides the logistical support to the navy's readiness at all level of commands and serves as the supply platform, through helicopters, to conduct the
search and rescue,
special operations,
anti-submarine warfare (ASW), and the
anti-surface warfare (ASuW).[146] Unlike the
Indian Navy, the Pakistan Navy does not have the rapid
aircraft carrier based strike capability but relies its aerial strike operations from clear and traditionally long
landing platform built at the
Mehran Naval Air Station in Karachi.[147]: 66
After realising the failure to protect the harbour from the attacks of the
Indian Navy in 1971, the Navy took the research on using the aircraft on sea in an attempt to lessen the dependence on the
Pakistan Air Force, which already covers the airspace of Pakistan, and established the naval aviation branch, the
Naval Air Arm, in 1974.[146][148] whose initial pilot training takes place at the
Air Force Academy in
Risalpur.[149]
Current weapon systems in the Pakistan Navy is entirely composed and focused towards missiles, serving as both weapons or a defence from a threat.[152][153]
In 1971 with the Indian Navy's introduction of
anti-ship missiles, Navy had the strong emphasis on classically using the
artillery and
ammunition focusing towards the vintage tactics witnessed in the previous naval wars fought in the
World War II.[154]
The Navy's ground based air defence is entrusted with the Pakistan Marines who received their weapons training at the School of Infantry and Tactics in Quetta with the Pakistan Army.[98][155]
In 2016, the Navy inducted the
Harbahcruise missile, based on the
Babur design, that was test fired from the PNS Himmat– the
Azmat-class missile boat.[156] The Navy operates the
Zarb cruise missile that was first test fired on 10 April 2016.[157][158]
The cruise missiles system in the Navy, the
Harbah and
Babur–III are the variants and derivatives of the improved version of the first cruise missile that entered in the service of the
Pakistan Army— the
Babur cruise missile system.[159]
Mistral shoulder-fired surface-to-air missile, test fired on 25 December 2010 by Pakistan Marines.
The military uniform in the Pakistan Navy includes the full white-worn
service uniform as seen in the footage, and is worn on regular basis by the senior ranking star officers in the Navy.[160]: 295 In the past times of 1947–2012, the Navy's uniform had closely followed the uniforms issued in the British
Royal Navy with star officers often wearing the full white dress while the junior officers to enlisted members only wearing dressed-up blue working uniforms as their authorised working uniform in the vessels.[160]: 295
In 2014, the Navy working uniform pattern for all officials have been changed in favour of adopting the authorised digital camouflage pattern uniform which incorporates sparse black and medium grey shapes on a light grey background.[161]
After the Indian Navy's missile attacks in Karachi in 1971, the Navy concentrated on building and moving its operational assets in
Balochistan,
Punjab, and the
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.[87]
These naval bases are operationalised for various purposes including the logistics and maintenance support, armoury and ammunition support, air stations, military hospitals,
SEALs teams, coastal and missile defences, missile boats and submarine bases, forward operating bases etc.[87] The
PNS Zafar serves as the major logistics naval base for the Pakistani military's operational capability in the western and northern Pakistan, followed by the naval forward operating base constructed at the vicinity of the
Naval War College in Lahore.[164]
The primary naval air station is the
Naval Air Station Mehran (PNS Mehran), followed by the establishment of the naval air stations in
Makran,
Ormara,
Turbat and the
Manora Island.[165] In 2017, the PNS Siddiq was commissioned to support the aerial missions for the Navy's
Naval Aviation reconnaissance group to guard the safety of the
CPEC.[165]
Besides deployment within Pakistan, the Pakistan Navy, along with the inter-services branches, are permanently based in different parts in the
Saudi Arabia and the
United Arab Emirates.[169]
Unlike the army or air force where there are several paths to become the officers, there is only one way of becoming the naval officer by must attending the
Pakistan Naval Academy—after passing out the
boot camp in
Manora Island— for one-and-half year for them to be able to
passed out from the academy.[174]
The
passed out cadets gain
commission in the Navy as
midshipman, taking their first assignment in an open-sea ship that gives them the experience of life at sea while being trained in different careers on board.[174] The training of the
passed out midshipman usually lasts till six months before rotating back to the naval academy to be promoted as the
Sub-Lieutenants.[174] Their college education is provided by the Navy at the
Naval Engineering College in
Karachi for three years that led them to earn the
bachelor's degree in their choice of career.[174]
Besides the military officers, the Department of Navy also offers employments to civilians in financial management, accountancy, medical services, computing, and administration, and has currently employed ~2,000 civilians that met the Navy's quota in 2018.[176]
The recruitment and the enlistment in the navy is nationwide and the recruitment in the Navy is carried out by the release of the employment tender in the
print newspapers and
televised commercials twice a year– first group attending the boot camp in May and the second being directed on November.[178] The Directorate of Recruitment that is located in the
Navy NHQ in Islamabad controls the recruiting offices and centers in all over the country— the recruiting offices are located in
Punjab,
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa,
Sindh, and
Balochistan.[179] Before 1966, almost all the enlisted personnel and officers had to be sent to attend the military academies in the
United Kingdom to be educated and to be trained in technical branches for the Pakistan Navy.[21]: 90
After passing out from the nine-month long boot camp, the enlisted personnel are directed for subsequent job training at the
PNS Karsaz in Karachi on the matters of technical subjects and assigned for different branches in the Navy.[178]
Promotion in the Navy from the enlistment to officers ranks are much quicker than the army or the air force, as the Department of Navy offers financial aid to those enlisted personnel successful in their profession to attend the
colleges and universities.[178] Most of the enlisted personnel rarely stays in their enlisted ranks at the time of their retirement as most retires at junior officer ranks once reaching their retirement age of 62[21]: 90
Their technical experiences in their fields is consolidated into the professional training that forms their basis to attend the respective university for them to earn the four-year college degree.[178]
The
noncommissioned officers (or enlists) wear respective anchors color patches or badges chevrons on their shoulders.[178] Retirement age for the enlisted personnel varies and depends on the enlisted ranks that they have attained during their services.[178]
After the Navy was established in August 1947, the Navy had to send its officers and enlisted personnel to be trained at the
Britannia Royal Naval College in the
United Kingdom whose training and education by the British
Royal Navy was crucial at all levels of cadet's learning and schooling.[21][180]: 91 During its earliest time in 1947, the Department of Navy had only 3,800 personnel (200
officers, 3,000 Enlists, and 500 civilian employees) as the Navy faced the same problems as its
Department of Army as the most technical enlisted personnel and skilled executive officers were
Punjabi Muslims while others had
Urdu-speaking background (i.e.
Indian immigrants as naturalised citizens of Pakistan).[19]: 47
After 1971, the
Bhutto administration introduced the
quota system to give fair chance to the residents of
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and
Balochistan to enlist in the military.[61]: 75 In 2012, Sanhia Karim became the first
Balochi woman to be commissioned into the navy, she joined in a squad consisting of fifty-three female officers and seventy-two enlists from
Balochistan,
Pakistan.[181][better source needed] In 2012, the Navy pushed its personnel strength to Balochistan after sending a large formation of Baloch university students to Navy Engineering Colleges and War College as well as staff schools to complete their officer training requirements.[182] The Navy established three additional facilities in Balochistan to supervise the training to its personnel.[182]
Recruitment in the Navy remains to be challenge for the naval recruiters to enlists citizens and their selfless commitment to the military from the
urbanised metropolitan cities where the preference of
college education (especially attending
post-graduate schooling in the
United States and the
English-speaking countries) is much higher and strongly desirable.[19]: 80 Furthermore, the medical standards and education levels required by the Department of Navy to be able to perform technical jobs also poses significant challenges as the Navy requiring the significant percentage marks once the
matriculation examinations are concluded.[178]
The Navy has only one
boot camp, the
PNS Himalaya in
Manora Island, where the
basic military training takes place.[178] The basic military training at the
PNS Himalaya goes for nine-months where instructions on military life is given while the
physical conditioning is strongly emphasised.[183] Once completing the boot camp, the enlisted personnel are sent to attend the
Pakistan Naval Academy where their training lasts for year and half before they are able to
passed out from the Naval Academy.[21]: 93 [174] Once passing out, the commissioned junior officers must spend six-month deployment in
Indian Ocean before being selected to attend the professional schools, such as the
Naval Engineering College in Karachi, to move towards attaining the bachelor's degree in a period of four-years.[174]
As the estimates made in 2003 and 2009, the Navy had approximately ~30,200 active duty personnel.[184] In 2014, the estimates established the Navy's manpower strength at 30,700 active duty personnel.[185] but its combined manpower strength is increased and approximated at ~40,500 personnel based on recent estimates in 2018.[61]: 73
The Pakistan Navy offers the wide range of lucrative careers to the high school graduates in the technical fields by issuing specialised diplomas and certifications at the
PNS Karsaz and the PNS Bahadur, which consists of the schools of operations, underwater, surface weapons, communications, and the naval police.[178][186] Instructions and technical education on technical fields and the engineering are primarily taught at the
Pakistan Navy Engineering College that is open for both military and public admission, and offers college degree programs at undergraduate and post-graduate level.[187]
When the Navy was established in 1947, there was no technical schools for the Navy to look after the ship maintenance and
power machinery that led to the establishment of the Pakistan Naval Polytechnic Institute (PNPI) in 1951 and the
Navy Engineering College in 1962 whose admissions are open to public besides the military personnel.[188] From 1947 to 1967, the Navy had to rely on the education and training provided by the
Royal Navy at all levels of schooling, and had to send most of its officers and enlisted men to be trained at the
Britannia Royal Naval College at the
Dartmouth and the
Royal Naval College in Greenwich who were mostly trained in communication and navigation.[189] Training on the operations of warships and education on the
military staffing was crucial for the Pakistan Navy in the 1960s under the
United States-sponsored
International Military Education and Training (IMET) arranged for Pakistan under the
Security Assistance Program (SAP) as the U.S. Navy's officers served in the faculty of the engineering and technical schools of the Navy.[190]: 190 [self-published source?]
In 1968, the
Naval War College was established in
Lahore, whose curriculum is very similar to the
Naval War College in the
United States, is a primary military staff college which offers critical thinking techniques and developing ideas for naval warfare to the officers in the army and the air force.[191] In 1970, the
School of Logistics and Management was established that conducts research on military logistics and management in imparting
naval warfare techniques to the military officers serving in the army, air force, and marines departments of the Pakistani military.[192]
After the
1971 war with India, the Navy established several schools on strategy, naval warfare, and weapons tactics by commissioning the PNS Bahadur in 1981 as the navy established schools are listed below:
Established in 1971, the
National Defense University (NDU) in Islamabad is the most senior and premier institute of higher learning that provides the advance
critical thinking level and research-based
strategy level education to the senior military officers in the Pakistani military.[193]: 9–10 The NDU is a significant institution of higher learning in understanding the institutional norms of military tutelage in Pakistan because it constitutes the "highest learning platform where the military leadership comes together for common instruction", according to thesis written by Pakistani author Aqil Shah.[194]: 8 Without securing their
graduation from their master's program at the NDU, no officer in the Pakistani military can be promoted as general in the army or air force, or admiral in the navy or marines as it is a prerequisite for their promotion to become a senior member at the
Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee.[194]: 8–9
Additionally, the platform provided at the NDU represents a radical shift from the emphasis on operational and staff functions and the level of ranks are imposed as qualification to attend the
master's program at the NDU, usually
brigadiers,
air commodores, and
commodores, are invited to given admission in broad range of strategic, political, social, and economic factors as these factors affect the country's national security.[194]: 8–9 In this sense, the NDU becomes the critical thinking institution as its constitutes active-duty senior military officers corps' baptism into a shared ideological framework about the military's appropriate role, status, and behavior in relation to state and society, and shared values affect how these officers perceive and respond to civilian governmental decisions, policies, and political crises.[193]: 9–10 Admission to the NDU is not restricted to military officials, but civilians can also attend and graduate, allowing them to explore the broader aspects of national security.[194]: 8–9
Since then, the Navy's tradition and culture is commonly and uniquenly influenced from the
United States Navy.[61]: 73
After the promulgation of the
Constitution in 1956, the Navy gained its independence from the British
Royal patronage and became the federal institution of the armed forces commissioned by the elected
President of Pakistan. The prefix Royal was permanently removed from the Navy as well as disbanding the British monarch culture and tradition in the Navy.
The
naval jack and the ensign flag of the Navy immediately replaced the
Queen'scolours and the white ensign entirely, instead the dark blue color with the anchor crest of the Navy was adopted while the blue anchor was added in the side of the corner white colored section on the
national flag of Pakistan. Since then, the naval jack has always flown in the warships of the Pakistan Navy while the naval ensign of the Navy is commonly used by the
Pakistan Marines as their primary war flag.
The Pakistan Navy has played an integral part in the civil society of Pakistan, almost since its inception.[198] In 1996, General Jehangir Karamat described Pakistan armed forces' relations with the society:
In my opinion, if we have to repeat of past events then we must understand that Military leaders can pressure only up to a point. Beyond that their own position starts getting undermined because the military is after all is a mirror image of the civil society from which it is drawn.
— General Jehangir Karamat on civil society–military relations[198]
In 2010, the Navy coordinated one of its
largest relief operations during the
nationwide flash floods, with Navy divers rescuing and evacuating more than 352,291 people in August 2010.[206] In addition, the Navy and Marines personnel provided 43,850 kg of food and relief goods to flood victims; 5,700 kg of ready-to-cook food, 1,000 kg of dates and 5,000 kg of food has been dispatched to Sukkur.[207]As of January 2011[update], under the program PN Model Village, the Navy's civil engineering corps built the model houses in the affected areas for the
internally displaced person (IDPs).[208]
On 10 June 2018, Pakistan Navy and Maritime Security Agency rescued eleven
Iranian crew members on a sunken Iranian boat in the Northern
Arabian Sea, about 230 kilometres (140 mi) away from
Karachi.[209][210]
The Pakistan Navy has the wider commercial and financial interests in the country, and is a forerunner of the
Bahria Foundation (lit. Naval Foundation).[211] From 1996 to 2000, the Navy was a major sponsor of the
Bahria Town– the real estate enterprise – and reportedly received market shares for the use of its name in commercial building projects.[212] In 2002, the Navy filed a civil lawsuit to refrain the
Bahria Town using its name for profiteering – the lawsuit was eventually settled in civil court in favour of Navy in 2018.[212]
In a sharp contrast to the American
Medal of Honor, the Nishan-e-Haider (NH) has only conferred to the ones who have martyred and proved their distinguished valor of actions in an event of conflict or war— therefore the Nishan-e-Haider has never been conferred to the living military officers who are mostly conferred with the Hilal-e-Jurat or Sitara-e-Jurat.[218]: 5 [219]}
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^
abcdefgGoPAK, Government of Pakistan.
"History". Electronic Government of Pakistan. Pakistan Navy, Historical reference. Archived from
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^
abcdPakDef Military Consortium.
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^Fagoyinbo, Joseph Babatunde (2013).
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abcdefghiTiwana, M.A. Hussain (November 1998).
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^Jacob, Lt Gen JFR (25 May 2010).
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