PNS ''Zulfiquar'' (FFG-251) is the

lead ship The lead ship, name ship, or class leader is the first of a series or class of ships all constructed according to the same general design. The term is applicable to naval ships and large civilian vessels. Large ships are very complex and may ...

of the F-22P ''Zulfiquar''-class

guided missile frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...

s since 2009. She was designed and constructed by

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...

firm, Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding in

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...

, for the

Pakistan Navy ur, ہمارے لیے اللّٰہ کافی ہے اور وہ بہترین کارساز ہے۔ English language, English: Allah is Sufficient for us - and what an excellent (reliable) Trustee (of affairs) is He!(''Quran, Qur'an, Al Imran, 3:173' ...

. The vessel's design is primarily influenced from the Type 053H3 frigate.

Design and construction

After the bilateral contract was signed between

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

and China on 4 April 2006, she was designed and constructed by the Hudong–Zhonghua Shipbuilding Co. in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

and her steel cutting was held on 10 October 2006 in

. She was officially

laid down Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one o ...

on 24 July 2007 and was launched on 7 April 2008 to complete several

sea trial A sea trial is the testing phase of a watercraft (including boats, ships, and submarines). It is also referred to as a " shakedown cruise" by many naval personnel. It is usually the last phase of construction and takes place on open water, and ...

s in China. She is the

of her class and was acquired by the Pakistan Navy on 30 July 2009. On 12 September 2009, she arrived and reported to her base, Naval Base Karachi and commissioned in the Navy. The induction ceremony was held on 19 September 2009 with former Chairman joint chiefs General

Tariq Majid General Tariq Majid ( ur, ; born 23 August 1950) is a retired four-star rank army general in the Pakistan Army who served as the 13th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee from 2007 to 2010, the principal and highest-ranking militar ...

visiting the ship and presented her with military colors. The warship was later visited by General Ashfaq Pervez, the army chief and Admiral

Noman Bashir Noman Bashir (Urdu: نعمان بشير) was a Pakistan Navy admiral who served as the 18th Chief of Naval Staff (CNS) from 7 October 2008 until retiring on 7 October 2011. His appointment as Chief of Naval Staff was approved by President As ...

who went to visit senior American officer, possibly Adm.

Mike Mullen Mike may refer to: Animals * Mike (cat), cat and guardian of the British Museum * Mike the Headless Chicken, chicken that lived for 18 months after his head had been cut off * Mike (chimpanzee), a chimpanzee featured in several books and document ...

, abroad on the American aircraft carrier.

Deployments and war service

Following her commissioning, ''Zulfiquar'' has been deployed to witnessed actions in the

War on Terror The war on terror, officially the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT), is an ongoing international Counterterrorism, counterterrorism military campaign initiated by the United States following the September 11 attacks. The main targets of the campa ...

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

and the

piracy off the coast of Somalia Piracy off the coast of Somalia occurs in the Gulf of Aden, Guardafui Channel and Somali Sea, in Somali territorial waters and other surrounding areas and has a long and troubled history with different perspectives from different communities. I ...

, when she was deployed to lead

military operation A military operation is the coordinated military actions of a state, or a non-state actor, in response to a developing situation. These actions are designed as a military plan to resolve the situation in the state or actor's favor. Operations may ...

to provide rescue and sealift of the personnel of MV ''Suez'' in 2011. On 6 September 2014, a serious incident took place involving ''Zulfiquar'' when

al-Qaeda Al-Qaeda (; , ) is an Islamic extremism, Islamic extremist organization composed of Salafist jihadists. Its members are mostly composed of Arab, Arabs, but also include other peoples. Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian and military ta ...

's Indian subcontinent branch attempted to take control of the vessel after penetrating the Naval Base Karachi. The Navy Special Service Group's Navy SEAL Teams and

1st Marines The 1st Marine Regiment is an infantry regiment of the United States Marine Corps based at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California. The regiment is under the command of the 1st Marine Division and the I Marine Expeditionary Force. The 1st ...

responded by engaging the attackers and succeeded in capturing four assailants alive who were locked away in the ship's compartment. The motive appeared to be that the attackers, still on active duty with the Navy, wanted to engage the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage of ...

's fleet in the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...

with its

cruise A cruise is any travel on a cruise ship. Cruise or Cruises may also refer to: Tourism * Booze cruise * Music cruise * River cruise Aeronautics and aircraft * Cruise (aeronautics), a distinct stage of an aircraft's flight * Aviasouz Cruise, a R ...

and

anti-ship missile An anti-ship missile (AShM) is a guided missile that is designed for use against ships and large boats. Most anti-ship missiles are of the sea skimming variety, and many use a combination of inertial guidance and active radar homing. A good ...

system. Several Western sources reported that 11 people were killed following a gunfight and a

suicide attack A suicide attack is any violent Strike (attack), attack, usually entailing the attacker detonating an explosive, where the attacker has suicide, accepted their own death as a direct result of the attacking method used. Suicide attacks have oc ...

: 10 attackers—four on the ''Zulfiquar'', including the organizers of the attack (

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

Zeeshan Rafiq and Owais Jakhrani, a former lieutenant), and six more dressed as marines who attempted to infiltrate the ship via a nearby

dinghy A dinghy is a type of small boat, often carried or towed by a larger vessel for use as a tender. Utility dinghies are usually rowboats or have an outboard motor. Some are rigged for sailing but they differ from sailing dinghies, which ...

—and one

petty officer A petty officer (PO) is a non-commissioned officer in many navies and is given the NATO rank denotation OR-5 or OR-6. In many nations, they are typically equal to a sergeant in comparison to other military branches. Often they may be superior ...

. On 13 September 2014, the Navy confirmed that it had detained 17 naval personnel including three key naval officers who were trying to flee to Afghanistan through Mastung in

Balochistan Balochistan ( ; bal, بلۏچستان; also romanised as Baluchistan and Baluchestan) is a historical region in Western and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. ...

in Pakistan. On 25 March 2016, the Navy JAG Corps announced that five naval officers had been

sentenced to death Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...

for their involvement in the attack. Unnamed officials told

Steve Coll Steve Coll (born October 8, 1958) is an Americans, American journalist, academic and executive. He is currently the dean of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, where he is also the Henry R. Luce Professor of Journalism. A staf ...

that

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

Research and Analysis Wing The Research and Analysis Wing (abbreviated R&AW; hi, ) is the foreign intelligence agency of India. The agency's primary function is gathering foreign intelligence, counter-terrorism, counter-proliferation, advising Indian policymakers, an ...

(R&AW) has evidence indicating that, unbeknownst to the attackers, the ''Zulfiquar'' was carrying a nuclear warhead during the incident. However, this intelligence reporting is uncorroborated and notably inconsistent with public information regarding Pakistan's nuclear weapons program, its delivery systems, and its methods of handling nuclear materials.

Gallery

File:The side of the PNS Zulfiquar.jpg, The side of PNS ''Zulfiquar'' anchored in

Port Klang Port Klang ( ms, Pelabuhan Klang) is a town and the main gateway by sea into Malaysia. Known during colonial times as Port Swettenham ( ms, Pelabuhan Swettenham) but renamed Port Klang in July 1972, it is the largest port in the country. It is l ...

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

File:FM-90 SAM.JPG, The FM-90N SAM system installed in ''Zulfiquar'' File:ET-52C torpedoes.jpg, The 3-cell ET-52C

torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, su ...

tubes installed in ''Zulfiquar'' File:C-802 anti ship missile.JPG, The C-802 "Eagle" SSM system installed in ''Zulfiquar'' File:76mm Gun.jpg, The 76.2 mm gun mounted on ''Zulfiqar'' as main

naval artillery Naval artillery is artillery mounted on a warship, originally used only for naval warfare and then subsequently used for naval gunfire support, shore bombardment and anti-aircraft roles. The term generally refers to tube-launched projectile-firi ...

File:Zulfiqar2.jpg, The CAD graphical design of ''Zulfiquar'' on the platform of the

LightWave 3D LightWave 3D is a 3D computer graphics 3D computer graphics, or “3D graphics,” sometimes called CGI, 3D-CGI or three-dimensional computer graphics are graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data (often Car ...

File:Zulfiqar3.jpg, The graphical design of ''Zulfiquar'' on the platform of the LightWave 3D File:Zulfiqar4.jpg, A rendering of a 3D model of ''Zulfiquar'' created using LightWave 3D software File:PNS_Zulfiquar_Hamburg.jpg, PNS ''Zulfiquar'' moored in the

Port of Hamburg The Port of Hamburg (german: Hamburger Hafen, ) is a seaport on the river Elbe in Hamburg, Germany, from its mouth on the North Sea. Known as Germany's "Gateway to the World" (''Tor zur Welt''), it is the country's largest seaport by volume ...

in 2021

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Zulfiquar (251) F-22P Zulfiquar-class frigate 2008 ships Ships built in China Military operations of the insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa