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Journalists’ visit: Navy to shift focus to Ormara base
By Irfan Ghauri / Ema Anis
Published: April 21, 2014
File photo of a free medical camp set up by the Pakistan Navy in Pasni in 2011. PHOTO: ISPR
ISLAMABAD / KARACHI: The Jinnah Naval Base set up in Ormara, Balochistan will eventually be the hub of the Pakistan Navy’s future activities, naval officials said.
This was revealed by navy officials in a recently organised visit for journalists, during which they shared details of the navy’s operational capabilities and humanitarian work in the coastal areas.
Reserved solely for military purposes, the Jinnah Naval Base has been set up at the coastal town of Ormara some 300 kilometers away from Karachi. With its first naval ship berthed in 1998, the Ormara base is now fully functional and is serving as a major secondary base for the navy after Karachi.
According to Commander Attique ur Rehman, a senior staff officer to the coast commander, under the country’s strategic plans Ormara will be the focal point of the navy’s operations.
Commander Coast Rear Admiral Arifullah Hussaini said the Ormara base “is an excellent location”.
“The mountain on its southern edge gives a natural cover to our installations and a natural shield against any missile attacks,” he said.
He also pointed out that the industrial waste in Karachi waters was damaging the navy’s assets and was lowering the life of ships.
“The coast has also become a hub of commercial activity, making it difficult for the navy to perform its tasks,” he added.
However, Hussaini claimed that the law and order in the entire coastal belt was better than other parts of the restive province of Balochistan. “I can assure you that the entire coastal belt is safer than Karachi.
He said his force was also trying to serve as bridge between the business community of Karachi and the local fishermen and arranging visits to the area.
“I think if we do not become meaningful for people all our efforts will be futile,” said Hussaini.
Pakistan navy is the smallest among the defence forces (the largest being the army), in terms of human and financial resources and is allocated 10 per cent of the defence budget.
Compared to the Indian navy, which is allocated approximately 19 per cent of the total budget of $40 billion, the Pakistan navy has smaller resources. However, officials said their force was fully equipped to face any adversity, especially after Pakistan attained self-reliance and its focus shifted from cooperation with Western countries to China.
Three bases better than one
With three functional bases in the near future, the navy will be equipped to manage the challenging task of guarding the proposed 350 nautical miles of extended maritime limits of the country throughout the 970 kilometer coastline.
With a base already established at Ormara, the navy plans to establish another fully equipped base at Gwadar on the Makran coastline.
Pakistan has already approached the United Nations to extend the outer limits of the continental shelf of Pakistan in accordance with the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.
Submitted before the UN Commission on the limits of the continental shelf a few years back, Pakistan hopes to extend its outer maritime limits from the current 200 nautical miles outward from territorial sea baseline to 350 nautical miles.
Journalists were also taken to Jewani and Gwadar where local commanders gave briefings about the area and navy’s work. The development of the Gwadar deep-water port in close proximity to the Gulf is in Pakistan’s maritime interest and geo-economic compulsion.
Jewani, with a population of around 100,000 people and approximately 90km away from Gwadar, serves as the main surveillance point for the navy to keep an eye on all maritime traffic in the Arabian Sea.
Commander West (ComWest) Commodore Naghman Chaudhry, the in-charge of the Jewani post, revealed that due to the proximity of the area with Iran, many inhabitants of the area within 70 km from Iranian borders are dual nationals and can freely visit Iran on a mere permit from the deputy commissioner.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 21st, 2014.
By Irfan Ghauri / Ema Anis
Published: April 21, 2014
File photo of a free medical camp set up by the Pakistan Navy in Pasni in 2011. PHOTO: ISPR
ISLAMABAD / KARACHI: The Jinnah Naval Base set up in Ormara, Balochistan will eventually be the hub of the Pakistan Navy’s future activities, naval officials said.
This was revealed by navy officials in a recently organised visit for journalists, during which they shared details of the navy’s operational capabilities and humanitarian work in the coastal areas.
Reserved solely for military purposes, the Jinnah Naval Base has been set up at the coastal town of Ormara some 300 kilometers away from Karachi. With its first naval ship berthed in 1998, the Ormara base is now fully functional and is serving as a major secondary base for the navy after Karachi.
According to Commander Attique ur Rehman, a senior staff officer to the coast commander, under the country’s strategic plans Ormara will be the focal point of the navy’s operations.
Commander Coast Rear Admiral Arifullah Hussaini said the Ormara base “is an excellent location”.
“The mountain on its southern edge gives a natural cover to our installations and a natural shield against any missile attacks,” he said.
He also pointed out that the industrial waste in Karachi waters was damaging the navy’s assets and was lowering the life of ships.
“The coast has also become a hub of commercial activity, making it difficult for the navy to perform its tasks,” he added.
However, Hussaini claimed that the law and order in the entire coastal belt was better than other parts of the restive province of Balochistan. “I can assure you that the entire coastal belt is safer than Karachi.
He said his force was also trying to serve as bridge between the business community of Karachi and the local fishermen and arranging visits to the area.
“I think if we do not become meaningful for people all our efforts will be futile,” said Hussaini.
Pakistan navy is the smallest among the defence forces (the largest being the army), in terms of human and financial resources and is allocated 10 per cent of the defence budget.
Compared to the Indian navy, which is allocated approximately 19 per cent of the total budget of $40 billion, the Pakistan navy has smaller resources. However, officials said their force was fully equipped to face any adversity, especially after Pakistan attained self-reliance and its focus shifted from cooperation with Western countries to China.
Three bases better than one
With three functional bases in the near future, the navy will be equipped to manage the challenging task of guarding the proposed 350 nautical miles of extended maritime limits of the country throughout the 970 kilometer coastline.
With a base already established at Ormara, the navy plans to establish another fully equipped base at Gwadar on the Makran coastline.
Pakistan has already approached the United Nations to extend the outer limits of the continental shelf of Pakistan in accordance with the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.
Submitted before the UN Commission on the limits of the continental shelf a few years back, Pakistan hopes to extend its outer maritime limits from the current 200 nautical miles outward from territorial sea baseline to 350 nautical miles.
Journalists were also taken to Jewani and Gwadar where local commanders gave briefings about the area and navy’s work. The development of the Gwadar deep-water port in close proximity to the Gulf is in Pakistan’s maritime interest and geo-economic compulsion.
Jewani, with a population of around 100,000 people and approximately 90km away from Gwadar, serves as the main surveillance point for the navy to keep an eye on all maritime traffic in the Arabian Sea.
Commander West (ComWest) Commodore Naghman Chaudhry, the in-charge of the Jewani post, revealed that due to the proximity of the area with Iran, many inhabitants of the area within 70 km from Iranian borders are dual nationals and can freely visit Iran on a mere permit from the deputy commissioner.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 21st, 2014.
