ur, ہمارے لیے اللّٰہ کافی ہے اور وہ بہترین کارساز ہے۔

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

: Allah is Sufficient for us - and what an excellent (reliable) Trustee (of affairs) is He!
(''

Qur'an The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , sing. ...

, 3:173'') , type =

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...

, role = , size = 54,100 total active personnel * 35,300

active-duty Active duty, in contrast to reserve duty, is a full-time occupation as part of a military force. In the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth of Nations, the equivalent term is active service. India The Indian Armed Forces The Indian Armed F ...

officers and

sailor A sailor, seaman, mariner, or seafarer is a person who works aboard a watercraft as part of its crew, and may work in any one of a number of different fields that are related to the operation and maintenance of a ship. The profession of the s ...

s * 5,000

reserve force A military reserve force is a military organization whose members have military and civilian occupations. They are not normally kept under arms, and their main role is to be available when their military requires additional manpower. Reserve ...

* 12,000

Marines Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refle ...

* 4,000 Maritime Security Agency * 2,800 civilian personnel
154 ships and 85 aircraft , command_structure =

Pakistan Armed Forces The Pakistan Armed Forces (; ) are the military forces of Pakistan. It is the world's sixth-largest military measured by active military personnel and consist of three formally uniformed services—the Army, Navy, and the Air Force, which are ...

, garrison = Naval Headquarters (NHQ),

Islamabad Islamabad (; ur, , ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's ninth-most populous city, with a population of over 1.2 million people, and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital T ...

, ICT , garrison_label = Garrison , colors = , colors_label = Colours , march = , mascot = , anniversaries =

Navy Day Several nations observe or have observed a Navy Day to recognize their navy. By country Argentina The Argentine Navy day is celebrated on May 17, anniversary of the victory achieved in 1814 in the Battle of Montevideo. Bahrain The R ...

: 8 September , equipment = 10

Frigates 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 ...

Destroyers In navy, naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a Naval fleet, fleet, convoy or Carrier battle group, battle group and defend them against powerful short range attack ...

Corvettes A corvette is a small warship. It is traditionally the smallest class of vessel considered to be a proper (or " rated") warship. The warship class above the corvette is that of the frigate, while the class below was historically that of the sloop ...

Submarines A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely o ...

midget submarines A midget submarine (also called a mini submarine) is any submarine under 150 tons, typically operated by a crew of one or two but sometimes up to six or nine, with little or no on-board living accommodation. They normally work with mother ships, ...

Patrol Vessels A patrol boat (also referred to as a patrol craft, patrol ship, or patrol vessel) is a relatively small naval vessel generally designed for coastal defence, border security, or law enforcement. There are many designs for patrol boats, and the ...

Fast Attack Craft A fast attack craft (FAC) is a small, fast, agile, offensive, often affordable warship armed with anti-ship missiles, gun or torpedoes. FACs are usually operated in close proximity to land as they lack both the seakeeping and all-round defensive ...

Patrol Craft A patrol boat (also referred to as a patrol craft, patrol ship, or patrol vessel) is a relatively small naval vessel generally designed for coastal defence, border security, or law enforcement. There are many designs for patrol boats, and the ...

54 High Speed Boats
6

Auxiliaries Auxiliaries are support personnel that assist the military or police but are organised differently from regular forces. Auxiliary may be military volunteers undertaking support functions or performing certain duties such as garrison troops, u ...

3 Mine Countermeasure vessels
2 Research & Survey Vessels
4 Support Ships , equipment_label = Fleet , battles = , decorations = , battle_honours = , battle_honours_label = , flying_hours = , website
paknavy.gov.pk
, commander1 =

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Arif Alvi Arif-ur-Rehman Alvi (; born 29 July 1949) is a Pakistani dentist and politician currently serving as the 13th President of Pakistan, in office since 9 September 2018. He was a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan from June 2013 to May 2 ...

, commander1_label = Commander-in-Chief , commander2 =

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

Sahir Shamshad Mirza General Sahir Shamshad Mirza ( ur, ) is a four-star rank general in Pakistan Army, currently serving as the 18th Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committeeappointed to the post on 27 November 2022. Prior to his appointment as Commander of X Corp ...

, commander2_label = Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff , commander3 = Adm.

Amjad Khan Niazi Muhammad Amjad Khan Niazi (Urdu: محمد امجد خان نیازی), is an Admiral in the Pakistan Navy who is the 17th and current Chief of Naval Staff of Pakistan. He assumed charge on October 7, 2020, after succeeding Zafar Mahmood Abbas ...

, commander3_label = Chief of Naval Staff , commander4 = V/Adm. Faisal Lodhi , commander4_label = Vice Chief of Naval Staff , notable_commanders = , identification_symbol = Naval Standard of Pakistan

, identification_symbol_label =

Flag A flag is a piece of fabric (most often rectangular or quadrilateral) with a distinctive design and colours. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design empl ...

, identification_symbol_2 = Naval Jack of Pakistan

, identification_symbol_2_label =

Jack Jack may refer to: Places * Jack, Alabama, US, an unincorporated community * Jack, Missouri, US, an unincorporated community * Jack County, Texas, a county in Texas, USA People and fictional characters * Jack (given name), a male given name, ...

, identification_symbol_3 = Naval Ensign of Pakistan

, identification_symbol_3_label =

Ensign An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diffe ...

, identification_symbol_4 = Roundel of Pakistan – Naval Aviation

, identification_symbol_4_label =

Roundel A roundel is a circular disc used as a symbol. The term is used in heraldry, but also commonly used to refer to a type of national insignia used on military aircraft, generally circular in shape and usually comprising concentric rings of differ ...

, identification_symbol_5 = , identification_symbol_5_label = , aircraft_attack = , aircraft_bomber = , aircraft_electronic = , aircraft_fighter = , aircraft_helicopter =

Harbin Z-9 The Harbin Z-9 ( NATO reporting name "Haitun", for Dolphin) is a Chinese military utility helicopter with civilian variants. It is a licensed variant of the French Eurocopter AS365 Dauphin, and is manufactured by Harbin Aircraft Manufacturin ...

Alouette III Alouette or alouettes may refer to: Music and literature * "Alouette" (song), a French-language children's song * Alouette, a character in ''The King of Braves GaoGaiGar'' Aerospace * SNCASE Alouette, a utility helicopter developed in France i ...

Mil Mi-14 The Mil Mi-14 (russian: Миль Ми-14, NATO reporting name: Haze) is a Soviet shore-based nuclear-capable amphibious anti-submarine helicopter derived from the earlier Mi-8. Design and development Formal development of an anti-submarine warf ...

Westland Sea King The Westland WS-61 Sea King is a British licence-built version of the American Sikorsky S-61 helicopter of the same name, built by Westland Helicopters. The aircraft differs considerably from the American version, with Rolls-Royce Gnome engin ...

, aircraft_helicopter_attack = , aircraft_helicopter_cargo = , aircraft_helicopter_multirole = , aircraft_helicopter_observation = , aircraft_helicopter_trainer = , aircraft_helicopter_transport = , aircraft_helicopter_utility = , aircraft_interceptor = , aircraft_patrol =

ATR-72-500 The ATR 72 is a twin-engine turboprop, short-haul regional airliner developed and produced in France and Italy by aircraft manufacturer ATR (french: Avions de transport régional or it, Aerei da Trasporto Regionale), a joint venture formed by ...

Fokker F27-2000

Lockheed P-3C Orion The Lockheed P-3 Orion is a four-engined, turboprop anti-submarine and maritime surveillance aircraft developed for the United States Navy and introduced in the 1960s. Lockheed based it on the L-188 Electra commercial airliner.

EMT Luna X

Hawker 850XP The Hawker 800 is a mid-size twinjet corporate aircraft. It is a development of the British Aerospace BAe 125, and was assembled by Hawker Beechcraft. Development In April 1981, the British Aerospace board sanctioned the programme to improve t ...

, aircraft_trainer = , aircraft_transport =

ATR 72-500 The ATR 72 is a twin-engine turboprop, short-haul regional airliner developed and produced in France and Italy by aircraft manufacturer ATR (french: Avions de transport régional or it, Aerei da Trasporto Regionale), a joint venture formed ...

Fokker F27-2000 , aircraft_tanker = , aircraft_general = The Pakistan Navy (PN) ( ur, ) ( ''romanized'': Pākistān Bāhrí'a; ) is the naval branch of the

. It came into existence by transfer of personnel and equipment from the

Royal Indian Navy The Royal Indian Navy (RIN) was the naval force of British India and the Dominion of India. Along with the Presidency armies, later the Indian Army, and from 1932 the Royal Indian Air Force, it was one of the Armed Forces of British India. Fr ...

that ceased to exist following the

partition of India The Partition of British India in 1947 was the Partition (politics), change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: ...

through a

parliamentary act Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of parliament be ...

that established the birth of Pakistan and independence of

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 ...

from the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

on 15 August 1947. Its primary objective is to ensure the defence of the

sea lines of communication Sea lines of communication (abbreviated as SLOC) is a term describing the primary maritime routes between ports, used for trade, logistics and naval forces. It is generally used in reference to naval operations to ensure that SLOCs are open, or in ...

of Pakistan and safeguarding Pakistan's maritime interests by executing national policies through the exercise of military effect, diplomatic and humanitarian activities in support of these objectives. 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 The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

to prevent seaborne terrorism and privacy off the coasts. The Pakistan Navy is a

volunteer force The Volunteer Force was a citizen army of part-time rifle, artillery and engineer corps, created as a popular movement throughout the British Empire in 1859. Originally highly autonomous, the units of volunteers became increasingly integrated ...

which has been in conflict with neighbouring

twice Twice (; Japanese: トゥワイス, Hepburn: ''To~uwaisu''; commonly stylized as TWICE) is a South Korean girl group formed by JYP Entertainment. The group is composed of nine members: Nayeon, Jeongyeon, Momo, Sana, Jihyo, Mina, Dahyun, Chaey ...

on its sea borders, and has been repeatedly deployed 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 ...

to act as a military advisor to Gulf Arab states and other friendly nations during the events of multinational conflict as part of its commitment to the

. The Navy has several components including the

Naval Aviation Naval aviation is the application of military air power by navies, whether from warships that embark aircraft, or land bases. Naval aviation is typically projected to a position nearer the target by way of an aircraft carrier. Carrier-based a ...

, and the Maritime Security Agency (a

coast guard A coast guard or coastguard is a maritime security organization of a particular country. The term embraces wide range of responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with customs and security duties to ...

). Since its commencement on 14 August 1947, the defensive role of the Navy has expanded from securing the sealines and becoming the custodian of Pakistan's second strike capability with an ability to launch underwater missile system to target enemy positions. The Navy is commanded by the Chief of Naval Staff, a four-star admiral, who is a member of the

Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee The Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (JCSC), ( ur, ); is an administrative body of senior high-ranking uniformed military leaders of the unified Pakistan Armed Forces who advises the civilian Government of Pakistan, National Security Council, ...

. The Chief of Naval Staff is nominated by the Prime Minister and appointed by the

History

Division of Royal Indian Navy in 1947

The Pakistan Navy came into existence on 14 August 1947 with the establishment of Pakistan as an independent state from the

. The Armed Forces Reconstitution Committee (AFRC) under

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

Field Marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered as ...

Sir

Claude Auchinleck Field Marshal Sir Claude John Eyre Auchinleck, (21 June 1884 – 23 March 1981), was a British Army commander during the Second World War. He was a career soldier who spent much of his military career in India, where he rose to become Commander ...

divided the shares and assets of the

(RIN) between the India and Pakistan in a ratio of 2:1, with Pakistan receiving the two

sloops A sloop is a sailboat with a single mast typically having only one headsail in front of the mast and one mainsail aft of (behind) the mast. Such an arrangement is called a fore-and-aft rig, and can be rigged as a Bermuda rig with triangular sa ...

, two

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, four minesweepers, two

naval trawler Naval trawlers are vessels built along the lines of a fishing trawler but fitted out for naval purposes; they were widely used during the First and Second World Wars. Some—known in the Royal Navy as "Admiralty trawlers"— were purpose-built to ...

s and four harbour launches. The Armed Forces Reconstitution Committee (AFRC) allocated about the two-thirds of the assets of the

to the

while one third was given to Pakistan despite Pakistan having inherited the high percentage of

delta Delta commonly refers to: * Delta (letter) (Δ or δ), a letter of the Greek alphabet * River delta, at a river mouth * D ( NATO phonetic alphabet: "Delta") * Delta Air Lines, US * Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19 Delta may also ...

areas on its coast and the large maritime area covering the

Arabian sea The Arabian Sea ( ar, اَلْبَحرْ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Bahr al-ˁArabī) is a region of the northern Indian Ocean bounded on the north by Pakistan, Iran and the Gulf of Oman, on the west by the Gulf of Aden, Guardafui Channel ...

on West and the

Bay of Bengal The Bay of Bengal is the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean, bounded on the west and northwest by India, on the north by Bangladesh, and on the east by Myanmar and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India. Its southern limit is a line between ...

on East. In addition, India also objected to transfer any machinery at the

Bombay Dockyard Bombay Dockyard, also known as Naval Dockyard, is an Indian shipbuilding yard at Mumbai. The superintendent of the dockyard is a Naval Officer of the rank Rear Admiral, known as the Admiral Superintendent. Background Shipbuilding was an establ ...

to Pakistan and further refused to part the machinery that happened to be on its soil. The Navy endured a difficult history— with only 200 officers and 3,000 sailors were inherited to the Navy– the most senior being

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

HMS Choudri Haji Mohammad Siddiq Choudri (Urdu: حاجى محمد صديق چودھری; b. 1912—27 February 2004), popularly known as HMS Choudhri, was a Pakistan Navy admiral who was the first native Chief of Naval Staff (Pakistan), Commander in Chief ...

who had little experience in the

military staff A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, Enlisted rank, enlisted and civilian staff who serve the commanding officer, commander of a D ...

ing. Of the ~200 officers, twenty of these had come from the Executive Branch of the

, and only six officers were the

mechanical engineers Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and mathematics principles with materials science, to design, analyze, manufacture, an ...

while there were none

electrical engineers Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems which use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the ...

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. The Navy suffered perennial problems with inadequate staff, lack of operational bases, lack of financial support, and poor technological and personnel resources. 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. The

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

and the

Air Force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an a ...

were the dominant forces where the defence planning were based wholly on army and air force point of view. Additional problems relating to the Navy were the lack of facilities and maintenance machinery, as the only

naval dockyard A naval base, navy base, or military port is a military base, where warships and naval ships are docked when they have no mission at sea or need to restock. Ships may also undergo repairs. Some naval bases are temporary homes to aircraft that u ...

on the

subcontinent A continent is any of several large landmasses. Generally identified by convention rather than any strict criteria, up to seven geographical regions are commonly regarded as continents. Ordered from largest in area to smallest, these seven ...

was located in

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

. To overcome these difficulties, the Navy had to launch a recruitment program for the young nation, starting in the East-Pakistan which proved to be very difficult to sustain the program; therefore, it was moved back to West-Pakistan to concentrate recruitment on

West Pakistan West Pakistan ( ur, , translit=Mag̱ẖribī Pākistān, ; bn, পশ্চিম পাকিস্তান, translit=Pôścim Pakistan) was one of the two Provincial exclaves created during the One Unit Scheme in 1955 in Pakistan. It was d ...

. 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.

The beginning: 1947–1964

Reorganization under the United States Navy (1947–1964)

The Navy's combat actions largely remained in absence during the first war with

in 1947–48 as all the fighting was restricted to

land Land, also known as dry land, ground, or earth, is the solid terrestrial surface of the planet Earth that is not submerged by the ocean or other bodies of water. It makes up 29% of Earth's surface and includes the continents and various islan ...

and aerial combat missions. On operational planning, Captain HMS Choudri had engaged on commanding a former RIN

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...

from

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former cap ...

to oversee the evacuation of Indian emigrants to Pakistan. 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. Command and control of the new Navy was extremely difficult as

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Liaquat Ali Khan Liaquat Ali Khan ( ur, ; 1 October 1895 – 16 October 1951), also referred to in Pakistan as ''Quaid-e-Millat'' () or ''Shaheed-e-Millat'' ( ur, lit=Martyr of the Nation, label=none, ), was a Pakistani statesman, lawyer, political theoris ...

administration Administration may refer to: Management of organizations * Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal ** Administrative assistant, Administrative Assistant, traditionally known as a Secretary, or also known as an admini ...

had to extend the employment of large number of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

officers An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," f ...

from the

British Admiralty The Admiralty was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom responsible for the command of the Royal Navy until 1964, historically under its titular head, the Lord High Admiral – one of the Great Officers of State. For much of it ...

with

Rear admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...

James Wilfred Jefford Vice Admiral James Wilfred Jefford CB, CBE (22 March 1901 – 1 January 1980) was the first Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Pakistan Navy, serving from its inception in 1947 until 1953. Most of his early career was in the Royal Indian Navy. ...

appointed as the

Flag Officer Commanding A flag officer is a Officer (armed forces), commissioned officer in a nation's armed forces senior enough to be entitled to fly a flag to mark the position from which the officer exercises command. The term is used differently in different countr ...

(FOC) who worked on creating the contingency plan, "Short-term Emergency Plan (STEP)", to work up the

s and naval defences in case of escalation of the war at sea. In 1948, the Directorate-General for the

Naval Intelligence Military intelligence is a military discipline that uses information collection and analysis approaches to provide guidance and direction to assist commanders in their decisions. This aim is achieved by providing an assessment of data from a ...

(DGNI), a staff corps, was established under

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 ...

S. M. Ahsan, who served as its first Director-General, in Karachi. When the first war came to an end in 1948, the Navy temporarily established its Navy NHQ in Karachi and acquired its first O-class destroyer from the transfer by the

. The Royal Pakistan Navy greatly depended on the generous donations from the British

with two s, and . ''Tippu Sultan'' was commissioned on 30 September 1949, under Commander P.S. Evans, whilst ''Tariq'' was placed under the command of

Lieutenant-Commander Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding rank i ...

A. R. Khan. The two destroyers formed the 25th Destroyer Squadron, as PNS ''Jhelum'' and PNS ''Tughril'', under Commander Muzaffar Hasan, also joined the Royal Pakistan Navy. In 1950, the Navy's

nationalisation Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately-owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to pri ...

took place when many officers from the air force and army volunteered to join the navy and

NCOs A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is a military officer who has not pursued a commission. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority by promotion through the enlisted ranks. (Non-officers, which includes most or all enli ...

gaining commission as an officers. 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 East Pakistan was a Pakistani province established in 1955 by the One Unit Scheme, One Unit Policy, renaming the province as such from East Bengal, which, in modern times, is split between India and Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India ...

, thereby creating opportunities for people in East Pakistan to participate in the build-up. In 1951, the

Pakistan government The Government of Pakistan ( ur, , translit=hakúmat-e pákistán) abbreviated as GoP, is a federal government established by the Constitution of Pakistan as a constituted governing authority of the four provinces, two autonomous territories ...

called for appointing native chiefs of the armed forces, but it was not until 1953 that a native navy chief was appointed. The

, however, maintained the command of the Navy through Rear-Admiral Jefford who had native deputy chiefs of staff including

Commodore Commodore may refer to: Ranks * Commodore (rank), a naval rank ** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom ** Commodore (United States) ** Commodore (Canada) ** Commodore (Finland) ** Commodore (Germany) or ''Kommodore'' * Air commodore ...

HMS Choudhri, Commodore Khalid Jamil, and

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

M.A. Alavi. HMS Gabbard (D47)

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. In 1951, HMS Choudhri's promotion papers as naval chief were approved by

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 Ayub Khan is a compound masculine name; Ayub is the Arabic version of the name of the Biblical figure Job, while Khan or Khaan is taken from the title used first by the Mongol rulers and then, in particular, their Islamic and Persian-influenced s ...

. He handed over the command of 25th Destroyer squadron to a

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...

naval officer, Commander Romuald Nalecz-Tyminski. In the mid-1950s, the

Ministry of Finance A ministry of finance is a part of the government in most countries that is responsible for matters related to the finance. Lists of current ministries of finance Named "Ministry" * Ministry of Finance (Afghanistan) * Ministry of Finance and Ec ...

awarded contracts to the Corps of Engineers (Pakistan Army) for the construction of the

Karachi Naval Dockyard The Karachi Naval Dockyard, also refers as PN Dockyard, is a naval base located adjacent to the commercial Karachi Shipyard and the PNS Qasim The PNS Qasim (also known as Marines Base Qasim) is a major marines base that serves as the headquarte ...

. In 1954, several efforts were made to procure a Ch-class submarine from the Royal Navy but was rejected by

which agreed to loan the , , which was renamed PNS ''Taimur''. From 1953 to 1956, HMS Choudri bitterly negotiated with the United States over the modernisation of the navy and convinced the U.S. government to provide monetary support for modernisation of ageing O–class destroyers and

minesweeper A minesweeper is a small warship designed to remove or detonate naval mines. Using various mechanisms intended to counter the threat posed by naval mines, minesweepers keep waterways clear for safe shipping. History The earliest known usage of ...

s, while commissioning the Ch–class destroyers from the Royal Navy. British naval tradition was disbanded and cancelled when the

United States 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 ...

advisers An adviser or advisor is normally a person with more and deeper knowledge in a specific area and usually also includes persons with cross-functional and multidisciplinary expertise. An adviser's role is that of a mentor or guide and differs categor ...

were dispatched to the

Pakistani military The Pakistan Armed Forces (; ) are the military forces of Pakistan. It is the world's sixth-largest military measured by active military personnel and consist of three formally uniformed services—the Army, Navy, and the Air Force, which are ...

in 1955. With the promulgation of the

Constitution of Pakistan The Constitution of Pakistan ( ur, ), also known as the 1973 Constitution, is the supreme law of Pakistan. Drafted by the government of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, with additional assistance from the country's Pakistani political parties, opposition ...

that established the

republicanism Republicanism is a political ideology centered on citizenship in a state organized as a republic. Historically, it emphasises the idea of self-rule and ranges from the rule of a representative minority or oligarchy to popular sovereignty. It ...

featuring the federalised government, the prefix ''Royal'' was dropped, and the service was re-designated the Pakistan Navy ("PN") with the

replaced the

Queen's colour In military organizations, the practice of carrying colours (or colors), standards, flags, or guidons, both to act as a rallying point for troops and to mark the location of the commander, is thought to have originated in Ancient Egypt some ...

and the

White Ensign The White Ensign, at one time called the St George's Ensign due to the simultaneous existence of a cross-less version of the flag, is an ensign worn on British Royal Navy ships and shore establishments. It consists of a red St George's Cross on ...

respectively in 1956. The order of precedence of the three services changed from Navy–Army–Air force to Army–Navy–Air Force. 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 The Mutual Defense Assistance Act was a United States Act of Congress signed by President Harry S. Truman on 6 October 1949. For US Foreign policy, it was the first U.S. military foreign aid legislation of the Cold War era, and initially to Eu ...

. In 1957, the Navy finalised the purchase of a

cruiser A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several roles. The term "cruiser", which has been in use for several hu ...

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. In 1958, the Navy made an unsuccessful attempt to obtain s 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. In 1958–59, the Navy NHQ staff began quarrelling with the Army GHQ staff and the

Ministry of Defense {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...

(MoD) over plans regarding the modernisation of the navy that resulted in bitter

interservice rivalry Interservice rivalry is the rivalry between different branches of a country's armed forces, in other words the competition for limited resources among a nation's land, naval, coastal, air, and space forces. The term also applies to the rivalr ...

between army and navy and ended with Admiral Choudri's resignation to the

Presidency A presidency is an administration or the executive, the collective administrative and governmental entity that exists around an office of president of a state or nation. Although often the executive branch of government, and often personified b ...

in 1959. Proposal of attaining the

aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a ...

was deferred due to financial constraints, forcing Pakistan to move towards establishing the formidable submarine command. 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 The Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) was an international organization for collective defense in Southeast Asia created by the Southeast Asia Collective Defense Treaty, or Manila Pact, signed in September 1954 in Manila, the Philipp ...

and

CENTO The Middle East Treaty Organization (METO), also known as the Baghdad Pact and subsequently known as the Central Treaty Organization (CENTO), was a military alliance of the Cold War. It was formed in 24 February 1955 by Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Tur ...

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

in retaining hopes for procuring a submarine despite financial constraints. The Royal Navy accepted the long awaiting requests from the Pakistan Navy for a regular visit to

to provide first hand experience in submarine operations in 1960–61. 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. It was 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 o ...

that provided an insightful and crucial training support to Pakistan Navy enabling it to conduct operations in long range in the

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 The Indian Navy is the maritime branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of Naval Staff, a four-star admiral, commands the navy. As a blue-water navy, it operates sig ...

. After seeing the U.S. contribution, the

decided to provide training and education to Pakistan Navy on submarine operations, and in 1964, was commissioned from the United States under the Security Assistance Program (SAP). Ussdiablo

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. 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

. As the

Indian Air Force The Indian Air Force (IAF) is the air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its complement of personnel and aircraft assets ranks third amongst the air forces of the world. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial w ...

's repeated sorties and raids disrupted PAF operations, the Navy assumed a more aggressive role in the conflict. On 2 September, the Navy deployed its first long-range submarine, PNS ''Ghazi'' under

K. R. Niazi which was charged with gathering intelligence on Indian naval movements that stalked the diverting threats posed by the aircraft carrier . 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 Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, ...

— an attack on the radar facilities used by the Indian Air Force in the small coastal town of

Dwarka Dwarka () is a city and a municipality of Devbhumi Dwarka district in the state of Gujarat in Western India. It is located on the western shore of the Okhamandal Peninsula on the right bank of the Gomti river at the mouth of the Gulf of Kut ...

. The operation ended with limited damage to the area. After gunnery bombardment, was deployed against the Indian Navy's

Western Naval Command The Western Naval Command is one of the three command–level formations of the Indian Navy. It is headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra. As the senior–most of the three formations, the command is responsible for the all naval forces in the A ...

at Bombay on 22 September and ended her operations and reported safely back to

on 23 September 1965. HMS Creole 1947 IWM FL 10775

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. 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. The United Kingdom offered the Navy to jointly built the

Type 21 frigate The Type 21 frigate, or ''Amazon''-class frigate, was a British Royal Navy general-purpose escort that was designed in the late 1960s, built in the 1970s and served throughout the 1980s into the 1990s. Development In the mid-1960s, the Royal Na ...

but was rejected by Ayub administration that would only allow the financial capital to be spent on submarine procurement. In 1966, the Pakistan Navy established its own

special operations Special operations (S.O.) are military activities conducted, according to NATO, by "specially designated, organized, selected, trained, and equipped forces using unconventional techniques and modes of employment". Special operations may include ...

force, the Navy Special Service Group (Navy SSG) after the recommendations from the

. In 1966–70, Pakistan Navy had been well aware of massive procurement and acquisitions of weapon systems being acquired from the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

and

, and the danger it will posed to Pakistan. In 1966–69, there were series of unsuccessful talks of acquiring the warships from the Soviet Navy which ended with no yielding results. The Soviet Union offered to sell their but Pakistan Navy wanted the

Styx missile The P-15 ''Termit'' (russian: П-15 "Термит"; en, termite) is an anti-ship missile developed by the Soviet Union's MKB Raduga, Raduga design bureau in the 1950s. Its GRAU designation was 4K40, its NATO reporting name was ''Styx'' or SS-N ...

s 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

. The Russians later determined to their strategic interests lay with India and allowed the developing relationship with Pakistan to wither.Story of the Pakistan Navy Op . Cit. pp. 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. Pleas for strengthening the Navy in

were ignored due to monetary issues and financial constraints restricted the Navy's capabilities to function more efficiently. In 1968, the s were procured from France while operating s that was refitted and upgraded by the

Turkish Navy The Turkish Naval Forces ( tr, ), or Turkish Navy ( tr, ) is the naval warfare service branch of the Turkish Armed Forces. The modern naval traditions and customs of the Turkish Navy can be traced back to 10 July 1920, when it was establi ...

. Due to the Egyptian blockade of the

Suez Canal The Suez Canal ( arz, قَنَاةُ ٱلسُّوَيْسِ, ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia. The long canal is a popular ...

, the Navy had to execute a notable submerged

circumnavigation Circumnavigation is the complete navigation around an entire island, continent, or astronomical object, astronomical body (e.g. a planet or natural satellite, moon). This article focuses on the circumnavigation of Earth. The first recorded circ ...

operation from the Indian Ocean through the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

in order to undergo a refit program at the

Gölcük Naval Shipyard Gölcük Naval Shipyard ( tr, Gölcük Donanma Tersanesi) is a naval shipyard of the Turkish Navy within the Gölcük Naval Base on the east coast of the Sea of Marmara in Gölcük, Kocaeli. Established in 1926, the shipyard serves for the bu ...

in Turkey which was the only facility to manage the

refit Refitting or refit of boats and marine vessels includes repairing, fixing, restoring, renewing, mending, and renovating an old vessel. Refitting has become one of the most important activities inside a shipyard. It offers a variety of services for ...

ting and mid-life upgrades of

military computers This article specifically addresses U.S. armed forces military computers and their use. History Some of the earliest computers were military computers. Military requirements for portability and ruggedness led to some of the earliest transistori ...

of the ''Tench'' class. Despite reservations harbouring by the Navy NHQ about the ageing ''Ghazi'', she was sailed under the command of Commander

Ahmed Tasnim Vice-Admiral Ahmad Tasnim ( ur, ; born 1935) is a retired three-star rank admiral in the Pakistan Navy who is notable for his command of the ''Hangor'', a submarine, that sank the INS Khukri on 8 December 1971 during the third war with ...

starting from the

Karachi coast The Port of Karachi ( ur, , ''Bandar gāh Karāchī'') is one of South Asia's largest and busiest deep-water seaports, handling about 60% of the nation's cargo (25 million tons per annum) located in Karachi, Pakistan. It is located on the Karac ...

in Indian Ocean to

Cape of Good Hope The Cape of Good Hope ( af, Kaap die Goeie Hoop ) ;''Kaap'' in isolation: pt, Cabo da Boa Esperança is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa. A common misconception is that the Cape of Good Hope is t ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

, through the Atlantic Ocean and ended at the east coast of the

Sea of Marmara The Sea of Marmara,; grc, Προποντίς, Προποντίδα, Propontís, Propontída also known as the Marmara Sea, is an inland sea located entirely within the borders of Turkey. It connects the Black Sea to the Aegean Sea via the ...

where the Gölcük Naval Shipyard was located. In 1968–69, the Navy NHQ staff began its tussle with the Air AHQ staff over the issue establishing the

naval aviation Naval aviation is the application of military air power by navies, whether from warships that embark aircraft, or land bases. Naval aviation is typically projected to a position nearer the target by way of an aircraft carrier. Carrier-based a ...

who feared the loss of fighter jets and their pilots in the sea and was hostile towards this idea. 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. In 1970, the

foreign relations A state's foreign policy or external policy (as opposed to internal or domestic policy) is its objectives and activities in relation to its interactions with other states, unions, and other political entities, whether bilaterally or through mu ...

between Pakistan and East Pakistan further deteriorated and the Navy knew that it was impossible to defend East Pakistan from approaching Indian Navy. 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 In Urdu language, Awami is the adjectival form for '' Awam'', the Urdu language word for common people. The adjective appears in the following proper names: *Awami Colony, a neighbourhood of Landhi Town in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan *Awami Front, wa ...

's military wing– the ''

Mukti Bahini The Mukti Bahini ( bn, মুক্তিবাহিনী, translates as 'freedom fighters', or liberation army), also known as the Bangladesh Forces, was the guerrilla resistance movement consisting of the Bangladeshi military, paramilitary ...

''. 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.

Indo-Pakistan war of 1971

By 1971, the Navy NHQ staffers and their commanders knew very well that the Pakistan Navy was poorly represented in East Pakistan (now

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

) and there was no main infrastructure to conduct defensive operation against the Eastern Naval Command of Indian Navy in

. The Navy was only able conducted the

riverine A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...

-based operations that was being undertaken by the

Pakistan Marines The Pakistan Marines (Urdu: ) or simply as Pak Marines, is an Expeditionary warfare, expeditionary and amphibious warfare Pakistan Military, uniform service branch within the Pakistan Navy, consisting of the naval officers and other personnel to p ...

with the assistance from the Navy Special Service Group, code named,

Barisal Barisal ( or ; bn, বরিশাল, ), officially known as Barishal, is a major city that lies on the banks of the Kirtankhola river in south-central Bangladesh. It is the largest city and the administrative headquarter of both Barisal Dist ...

, in April 1971. 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. Furthermore, the defections from Navy's Bengali officers and sailors had jeopardise the Navy's operational scope who went onto join the

's militant wing, the ''

'' in a program known as ''Jackpot''. 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. East-Pakistan's geography was surrounded by India on all three landward sides by the

Indian Army The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...

as the Navy was in attempt to prevent India from blocking the coasts. During this time, the Navy NHQ was housed in Karachi that decided to deploy the newly MLU ''Ghazi'' submarine on East while in West for the intelligence gathering purposes. USS Wiltsie (DD-716)

With no naval aviation branch to guard the

Karachi port The Port of Karachi ( ur, , ''Bandar gāh Karāchī'') is one of South Asia's largest and busiest deep-water seaports, handling about 60% of the nation's cargo (25 million tons per annum) located in Karachi, Pakistan. It is located on the Kar ...

, the Indian Navy breached the seaborne borders of Pakistan and successfully launched the first missile attack, consisting of three Soviet-built s escorted by two

anti-submarine An anti-submarine weapon (ASW) is any one of a number of devices that are intended to act against a submarine and its crew, to destroy (sink) the vessel or reduce its capability as a weapon of war. In its simplest sense, an anti-submarine weapo ...

patrol vessels on 4 December 1971. 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. Two of the warships, and , were sunk, while was damaged beyond repair. After the attacks, the Indian Navy's missile boat squadron safely returned to its home base without sustaining any damages. On 8 December 1971, commanded by its

, sank the Indian frigate off the coast of Gujarat, India— this was the first sinking of a warship by a submarine since

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, 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. The

Pakistan Air Force , "Be it deserts or seas; all lie under our wings" (traditional) , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = ...

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. The Indian Navy retaliated with a second missile attack on Pakistan's coast on the night of 8 December 1971 when a small

flotilla A flotilla (from Spanish, meaning a small ''flota'' (fleet) of ships), or naval flotilla, is a formation of small warships that may be part of a larger fleet. Composition A flotilla is usually composed of a homogeneous group of the same class ...

of Indian vessels, consisting of a missile boat and two frigates, approached Karachi and launched a missile attack that sank the Panamanian

cargo ship A cargo ship or freighter is a merchant ship that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year, handling the bulk of international trade. Cargo ships are usu ...

''Gulf Star'', PNS ''Dacca'' and the British merchant ship SS ''Harmattan'' were damaged. 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. PNS Zulfiqar (K265) Former HMS Deveron

The commercial pilots from the

Pakistan International Airlines Pakistan International Airlines ( ur, ; abbreviated PIA, ur, ) is an international airline that serves as the national flag carrier of Pakistan under the administrative control of the Secretary to the Government of Pakistan for Aviation. It ...

volunteered to conduct air surveillance missions with the

Pakistan Air Force , "Be it deserts or seas; all lie under our wings" (traditional) , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = ...

, 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, , as an Indian missile boat, giving clearance to the F-86 fighter jets of the

Pakistan Air Force , "Be it deserts or seas; all lie under our wings" (traditional) , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = ...

which made several attack runs before finally identifying ''Zulfiqar'' by the Navy NHQ. This serious

friendly fire In military terminology, friendly fire or fratricide is an attack by belligerent or neutral forces on friendly troops while attempting to attack enemy/hostile targets. Examples include misidentifying the target as hostile, cross-fire while eng ...

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. 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." 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. 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. Pakistani authorities state that it sank either due to internal explosion or detonation of mines which it was laying at the time. The Indian Navy claims to have sunk the submarine. The submarine's destruction enabled the Indian Navy to enforce a blockade on then East Pakistan. 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. The damage inflicted by the Indian Navy and

on the Navy stood at seven

gunboat A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies. History Pre-steam ...

s, one minesweeper, two destroyers, three

patrol craft A patrol boat (also referred to as a patrol craft, patrol ship, or patrol vessel) is a relatively small naval vessel generally designed for coastal defence, border security, or law enforcement. There are many designs for patrol boats, and the ...

, eighteen cargo, supply and communication vessels, and large-scale damage inflicted on the naval base and docks in the coastal town of Karachi. Three merchant navy ships; Anwar Baksh, Pasni and Madhumathi; and ten smaller vessels were captured. Around 1,900 personnel were lost, while 1413 servicemen (mostly officers) were captured by Indian forces in

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), formerly known as Dacca, is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest Bengali-speaking city. It is the eighth largest and sixth most densely populated city ...

. The Indian Navy lost 18 officers and 176 sailors and a frigate, while another frigate was damaged and a

Breguet Alizé Breguet or Bréguet may refer to: * Breguet (watch), watch manufacturer **Abraham-Louis Breguet (1747–1823), Swiss watchmaker **Louis-François-Clement Breguet (1804–1883), French physicist, watchmaker, electrical and telegraph work * Bréguet ...

naval aircraft was shot down by the

Pakistan Air Force , "Be it deserts or seas; all lie under our wings" (traditional) , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = ...

. According to one Pakistan scholar,

Tariq Ali Tariq Ali (; born 21 October 1943) is a Pakistani-British political activist, writer, journalist, historian, filmmaker, and public intellectual. He is a member of the editorial committee of the ''New Left Review'' and ''Sin Permiso'', and con ...

, the Pakistan Navy lost half its force in the war. 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. According to the testimony provided by the

Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...

Mohammad Shariff Admiral Mohammad Shariff ( ur, ; 1 July 1920 – 27 April 2020), was a Pakistan Navy senior admiral, who served as the 2nd Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee and a memoirist who was at the center of all the major decisions made ...

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. 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. In a thesis written by Dr. P. I. Cheema in 2002,

, who had enjoyed considerable influence on Pakistan's national politicians, did not fully understood the Navy as a

military service Military service is service by an individual or group in an army or other militia, air forces, and naval forces, whether as a chosen job (volunteer) or as a result of an involuntary draft (conscription). Some nations (e.g., Mexico) require a ...

or neither comprehend the importance of safeguarding the

, which prevented the development of the Navy as a potent force as it should have in the 1970s.

Restructuring and building towards modern Navy: 1972–1989

After

1971 war The Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 was a military confrontation between India and Pakistan that occurred during the Bangladesh Liberation War in East Pakistan from 3 December 1971 until the Pakistani capitulation in Dhaka on 16 Decemb ...

, steps were taken to modernise and increase the operational scope of the Navy. 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. In January 1972, the Bhutto administration formed the POW Commission to investigate the number of war prisoners held by the

in East and submitted the request to the

Supreme Court of Pakistan The Supreme Court of Pakistan ( ur, ; ''Adālat-e-Uzma Pākistān'') is the apex court in the judicial hierarchy of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Established in accordance to thePart VIIof the Constitution of Pakistan, it has ultimate a ...

to investigate the causes of the war failure with India in 1971. After concluding a quick visit in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

in 1972, President Bhutto used his administrative powers to

dishonorably discharge A military discharge is given when a member of the armed forces is released from their obligation to serve. Each country's military has different types of discharge. They are generally based on whether the persons completed their training and the ...

the commission of five senior admirals in the Navy, appointing the junior most H. H. Ahmed as the first Chief of Naval Staff of the Navy. In 1973, the Navy NHQ was permanently moved to

to provide synergy with the Army GHQ in Rawalpindi. USS Epperson (DD-719) underway in 1970

In 1974, the

branch was established with the transfer of the

helicopters from the

in 1975, followed by test firing the surface-to-ship

Exocet The Exocet () is a French-built anti-ship missile whose various versions can be launched from surface vessels, submarines, helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft. Etymology The missile's name was given by M. Guillot, then the technical director ...

missile as a befitting response to the Indian Navy in 1979. 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 South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.;;;;;;;; ...

to acquire land-based ballistics missile capable long range reconnaissance aircraft.South Asia's Nuclear Security Dilemma: India, Pakistan, and China By Lowell Dittmer, pp 77 In 1976, the Navy moved towards successfully acquiring the military computers from the British firm, the

Ferranti Ferranti or Ferranti International plc was a UK electrical engineering and equipment firm that operated for over a century from 1885 until it went bankrupt in 1993. The company was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. The firm was known ...

, to increase its defences for its coastlines. The War Enquiry Commission noted the lack of strategic communication and the

grand strategy Grand strategy or high strategy is a state's strategy of how means can be used to advance and achieve national interests. Issues of grand strategy typically include the choice of primary versus secondary theaters in war, distribution of resource ...

between the four-branches of the military during the conflict and wars with India, recommending the establishment of the

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. In 1976, Navy saw its first four-star rank admiral when

was promoted to this rank, and later becoming the first admiral to be appointed as the

Chairman The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

of Joint Chiefs Committee in 1977. In 1977, the United States reportedly transferred the two

ted 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. During this time, the Navy to diversify its procurement with defence deals made with

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 ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, 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. In 1979, the France offered to sell their ''Agosta-70A''-class submarine and was immediately acquired which were commissioned as and . 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

at wider range. In 1982, the

Reagan administration Ronald Reagan's tenure as the 40th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1981, and ended on January 20, 1989. Reagan, a Republican from California, took office following a landslide victory over D ...

submitted the proposal of

US$ The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

3.2 billion aid for Pakistan that was aimed towards economic uplift and security assistance to the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

as the Navy entered in successful negotiation of obtaining the

Harpoon A harpoon is a long spear-like instrument and tool used in fishing, whaling, seal hunting, sealing, and other marine hunting to catch and injure large fish or marine mammals such as seals and whales. It accomplishes this task by impaling the t ...

system, despite the strong Indian lobby opposing and objecting of this deal. 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. With the induction of the missile systems, long-range and depth endurance submarines, missiles destroyers, fighter aircraft, and establishment of the 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. Eventually, the Pakistan Navy began its wartime deployment in

Middle Eastern countries The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europe ...

through the

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Persis, Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a Mediterranean sea (oceanography), me ...

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 The Iran–Iraq War was an armed conflict between Iran and Iraq that lasted from September 1980 to August 1988. It began with the Iraqi invasion of Iran and lasted for almost eight years, until the acceptance of United Nations Security Council ...

and tensions with Libya. In 1982, the Reagan administration approved

3.2 billion military and economic aid to Pakistan with Pakistan acquiring eight and frigates from the United States Navy on a five-year lease in 1988. A

depot Depot ( or ) may refer to: Places * Depot, Poland, a village * Depot Island, Kemp Land, Antarctica * Depot Island, Victoria Land, Antarctica * Depot Island Formation, Greenland Brands and enterprises * Maxwell Street Depot, a restaurant in ...

for repairs, followed the lease of these ships in April 1989. This was done due to the

Zia administration The Parliament of Pakistan ( ur, , , "Pakistan Advisory Council" or "Pakistan Consultative Assembly") is the federal and supreme legislative body of Pakistan. It is a bicameral federal legislature that consists of the Senate as the upper h ...

co-operation Cooperation (written as co-operation in British English) is the process of groups of organisms working or acting together for common, mutual, or some underlying benefit, as opposed to working in competition for selfish benefit. Many animal a ...

with the

against the Soviet Union's

invasion An invasion is a military offensive in which large numbers of combatants of one geopolitical entity aggressively enter territory owned by another such entity, generally with the objective of either: conquering; liberating or re-establishing con ...

in Afghanistan.

Self reliance, engagement and covert operations (1990–1999)

Former Brooke and O'Callahan transferred to Pakistan

After the Russian troops withdrawal from

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 ...

in 1989, the Bush administration imposed the

arms embargo An arms embargo is a restriction or a set of sanctions that applies either solely to weaponry or also to "dual-use technology." An arms embargo may serve one or more purposes: * to signal disapproval of the behavior of a certain actor * to maintain ...

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. With the expiration of the lease of the and 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. The embargo seriously impaired the Navy's operational scope and paralysed its ability to operate in the

, since the Navy's fleet was composed of entirely the former U.S.-built warships. Since 1987, the Pakistan Navy had been interested in acquiring the Type 21 frigates from the

, and the Navy turned to the

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 A naval base, navy base, or military port is a military base, where warships and naval ships are docked when they have no mission at sea or need to restock. Ships may also undergo repairs. Some naval bases are temporary homes to aircraft that us ...

in Karachi over the years. 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 A nuclear submarine is a submarine powered by a nuclear reactor, but not necessarily nuclear-armed. Nuclear submarines have considerable performance advantages over "conventional" (typically diesel-electric) submarines. Nuclear propulsion, ...

from China due to noise issue that the Indian Navy was quiet able to track. 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. 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 The Somali Civil War ( so, Dagaalkii Sokeeye ee Soomaaliya; ar, الحرب الأهلية الصومالية ) is an ongoing civil war that is taking place in Somalia. It grew out of resistance to the Military dictatorship, military junta wh ...

, conducting wartime patrol in the Somali coast. Pakistan Navy Orion Asuspine

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 Operation United Shield was the codename of a military operation, conducted 9 January to 3 March 1995, bringing a conclusion to the United Nations Operation in Somalia II (UNOSOM II). Commanded by the United States, two ships of the Pakistan N ...

to conclude its side of operation after evacuating personnel and equipment of the

army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

marines Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refle ...

, and air force. 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. By 1997, the controversy over the technology transfer from France had tarnished the public image of the Navy with the arrest of naval chief when several cases were levelled on political and military leadership of the Navy. Despite India's strong objections in France, the

air-independent propulsion Air-independent propulsion (AIP), or air-independent power, is any marine propulsion technology that allows a non-nuclear submarine to operate without access to atmospheric oxygen (by surfacing or using a snorkel). AIP can augment or replace the ...

was transferred to Pakistan which built the , capable to operating in Indian Ocean and at higher submarine depth. In 1999, the Navy saw the public disagreement with the

federal government A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governin ...

over the issue of Pakistan Army's engagement with Indian Army in Kashmir and over the rightful appointment of the Admiral

Fasih Bokhari Admiral Fasih Bokhari (; 8 March 1942 – 24 November 2020) was a Pakistani admiral who served as the Chief of Naval Staff from 1997 to 1999. He was a well-known pacifist and a prominent political figure as the Chief of Naval Staff from 1997 ...

as Chairman joint chiefs. Pakistan Navy was forced to deploy its existing war assets when the Indian Navy deployed its warships near

Korangi Creek Cantonment Korangi Creek Cantonment or Korangi Cantonment ( ur, کورنگی کریک چھاؤنی ) is a cantonment town of the city of Karachi, in Sindh, Pakistan. It serves as a military base and residential establishment. It was established by the ...

and

Port of Karachi The Port of Karachi ( ur, , ''Bandar gāh Karāchī'') is one of South Asia's largest and busiest deep-water seaports, handling about 60% of the nation's cargo (25 million tons per annum) located in Karachi, Pakistan. It is located on the Karac ...

with their codename: ''Operation Talwar''. On 10 August 1999, a serious incident took place in Sir Creek region when the Indian Air Force shot down the

aircraft that resulted in deaths of 16 naval personnel, mostly officers. On 29 August 1999, another aircraft of the Navy, P3C Orion, was lost due to an accident with the loss of twenty one lives. 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 The International Court of Justice (ICJ; french: Cour internationale de justice, links=no; ), sometimes known as the World Court, is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN). It settles disputes between states in accordanc ...

, but the claim was later dismissed due to over-reaching of the court's mandate. After his incident in 1999, another proposal was raised to switched the

of Agosta submarine to substitute with

nuclear propulsion Nuclear propulsion includes a wide variety of propulsion methods that use some form of nuclear reaction as their primary power source. The idea of using nuclear material for propulsion dates back to the beginning of the 20th century. In 1903 it was ...

, however the proposal was dismissed.

War on Terror in Afghanistan and operations in North-West (2001–present)

Pakistan Navy Ship Shahjahan & Tippi Sultan

After the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the

, 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. In 2001, the Navy took serious consideration of deploying the

nuclear weapon A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions ( thermonuclear bomb), producing a nuclear explosion. Both bom ...

s on its submarines although none of the nuclear weapons were ever deployed in the submarines. In 2003–04, there were several proposals made for acquiring the vintage

s but the Navy itself had dismissed the idea since the country has not aspired to have an aircraft capability. 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 The ''Zulfiquar''-class frigate ( ur, ذوالفقار, lit=''Sword''), also known as F-22P or in English: ''Sword'' class, is a class of multi-mission guided missile frigates, in service with the Pakistan Navy. The class is based on an updat ...

guided missile frigates were eventually built it in 2006–15. Pakistan Navy Special Service Group member silhouetted aboard Pakistan Navy Ship PNS Babur

Pakistan Navy Special Service Group member silhouetted aboard Pakistan Navy Ship PNS Babur

Since 2004, the Navy's deployment took place in Indian Ocean, playing a crucial role in the multinational NAVCENT in

Bahrain Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...

, and took the leadership of the CTF-150 and CTF-151 as well as taking active participation in the

Operation Enduring Freedom Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) was the official name used synonymously by the U.S. government for both the War in Afghanistan (2001–2014) and the larger-scale Global War on Terrorism. On 7 October 2001, in response to the September 11 at ...

in 2006–10. In 2008, the task force group consisting of , , , 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. Its deployment 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 ...

also included their actions in the

War in Afghanistan War in Afghanistan, Afghan war, or Afghan civil war may refer to: *Conquest of Afghanistan by Alexander the Great (330 BC – 327 BC) *Muslim conquests of Afghanistan (637–709) *Conquest of Afghanistan by the Mongol Empire (13th century), see als ...

when the Navy's special forces were deployed to take participation in the Operations: ''Black Thunderstorm'', ''Rah-i-Nijat'', ''Mehran'', and the ''Help''. 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 Logistics is generally the detailed organization and implementation of a complex operation. In a general business sense, logistics manages the flow of goods between the point of origin and the point of consumption to meet the requirements of ...

and

intelligence gathering This is a list of intelligence gathering disciplines. HUMINT Human intelligence (HUMINT) are gathered from a person in the location in question. Sources can include the following: * Advisors or foreign internal defense (FID) personnel wor ...

as well as conducting ground operations with the army in Western areas to track down the al-Qaeda operatives. From 2010 to 2011, the Navy was in a brief direct conflict with the violent TTP group and

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 ...

, and its Naval Intelligence was able to track down the infiltrated militants within the ranks of the Navy. In 2015, the Navy was deployed in support of the Saudi-led blockade of Yemen after accepting the request from the

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

. 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 MILGEM project is a national warship program of the Republic of Turkey. Managed by the Turkish Navy, the project aims at developing multipurpose corvettes, frigates and destroyers that can be deployed in a range of missions, including reconnaiss ...

in Pakistan in 2018–2019 while it had earlier announced to start the building the program of the

nuclear submarine A nuclear submarine is a submarine powered by a nuclear reactor, but not necessarily nuclear-armed. Nuclear submarines have considerable performance advantages over "conventional" (typically diesel-electric) submarines. Nuclear propulsion, ...

for its current operational capabilities in 2013.

Organization, Naval Headquarters

Principal Staff Commands and Principal Staff Officers

Leadership in the Navy is provided by the

Minister of Defense A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...

, leading and controlling the direction of the department of navy from the Naval Secretariat-II at the

, with the

Defense Secretary The United States secretary of defense (SecDef) is the head of the United States Department of Defense, the executive department of the U.S. Armed Forces, and is a high ranking member of the federal cabinet. DoDD 5100.1: Enclosure 2: a The s ...

who is responsible for the bureaucratic affairs of the army's department. The Constitution of Pakistan, Constitution sets the role of the elected

President of Pakistan The president of Pakistan ( ur, , translit=s̤adr-i Pākiṣṭān), officially the President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is the ceremonial head of state of Pakistan and the commander-in-chief of the Pakistan Armed Forces.Pakistan Armed Forces The Pakistan Armed Forces (; ) are the military forces of Pakistan. It is the world's sixth-largest military measured by active military personnel and consist of three formally uniformed services—the Army, Navy, and the Air Force, which are ...

while the Prime Minister of Pakistan served as the Chief Executive of the Pakistan Armed Forces, both the people-elected civilians, the President and Prime minister, maintains a civilian control of the military. The Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), an appointed four-star rank admiral, is a principal military adviser on the Naval warfare, naval/maritime security affairs to the Government of Pakistan, Federal government and is a senior member of the

(JCSC)— a military body that advises and briefs the elected civilian

and its Cabinet of Pakistan, executive cabinet on national security affairs and operational military matters under the

of the

. The war functions of the Navy is controlled from the single combat headquarters, the Navy NHQ, located in

at vicinity of the JS HQ (Pakistan), Joint Staff Headquarters and the Army GHQ in Rawalpindi Cantonment in Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab in Pakistan. The Chief of Naval Staff controls and commands the Navy at all levels of operational command, and is assisted by number of Staff officer, 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 assests. Due to the influence from the

and later by the

since its earliest inception, the Pakistan Navy has a unique command structure and the navy's functionality is divided in various branches. 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 (Pakistan), Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff (DCNS) and often assisted by the Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff (Pakistan), 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 (Pakistan), Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff (DCNS). The Deputy Chiefs Of Naval Staff are usually holding either the Two-star admiral, two-star or Three-star rank, three-star ranks.The each and appointed Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff head or commander of their respected branch reports directly to the Chief of Naval Staff (Pakistan), Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS) at Navy NHQ in Islamabad of their respected command. The military administration of the Navy under the Chief of Naval Staff (Pakistan), Naval Chief based in the Navy NHQ includes its Principal Staff Commands and Principal Staff Officers:

Organizations and Heads of Services, Pakistan Navy

The Organizations and the Heads of Services operating in the Pakistan Navy and reporting directly to the Chief of Naval Staff (Pakistan), Naval Chief are as follows:

Naval components and branches

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.

Naval Commands in Field and Commanders

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. 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. The appointment to the senior Fleet Commander, 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. Geographically, there are three administrative commanders, such as Commander Karachi (COMKAR), Commander Central Punjab (COMCEP), and Commander Northern (COMNOR), are administrating the bulk of naval installations, offshore establishments, and training facilities besides the seven oceanic based commands. In 2012, the Pakistan Navy established the Naval Strategic Forces Command (Pakistan), Naval Strategic Forces Command that has area responsibility of exercising the deployment of sea-borne

s and is described by the military as the "custodian of the Nation-state, nation's nuclear second strike capability." The peacetime commands and the Commands in the Navy allocated are given below.

Special operations forces

The Special Service Group Navy, Special Service Group (Navy) (SSG(N)), colloquially known as the SSGN is an elite unit that conducts unconventional warfare, Scuba diving, combat diving, Maritime interdiction, naval interdiction, and Asymmetric warfare, asymmetric warfare operations, established under the guidance of the

's United States Navy SEALs, SEALs in 1966. The Navy Special Service Group is headquartered at PNS Iqbal in Karachi where the physical conditioning and weapon tactics training take place. The Navy Special Service Group's specialisation further includes training and mastery in the visit, board, search, and seizure methods, Maritime interdiction, naval interdiction, and Maritime security operations, security operations to prevent seaborne-based terrorism. The Navy Special Service Group is a tighter unit composed of highly qualified and selected personnel who are modelled on and inspired by the United States Navy SEALs, U.S. Navy SEALs training and tradition. The actual number of personnel of Navy Special Service Group is classified and their deployment are also subjected to classified information. In 1970–71, the Navy established the

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. On 14 April 1990, the Pakistan Marines were again recommissioned in the Navy with about 2,000 personnel. 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. The Pakistan Marines#Marines bases, camps, and battalions, 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.

Military philosophy

Combat doctrine

The military doctrine and philosophy of the Pakistan Navy is primarily directed towards preventing the

repeating the 1971 blockade of the Pakistani coasts. From 1947 until 1971, the Pakistan Navy was effectively little more than a

because the Government of Pakistan did not give importance to the strategy of protecting the

. In 1971, the

ultimately played a decisive role by enforcing a blockade of Chittagong and

, the only maritime outlets of

and

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

increased the funding of the Navy. Since 1971 the Navy tactical doctrine has included the acquisition, development, employment, and aggressive deployment of the long-range and Submarine depth ratings, depth reaching submarines in an effort to target and destroy its adversaries by attacking surface warships before reaching the country's ports. The Demining, 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. In 1983–85, the Navy commissioned the Dassault Mirage 5 from

whose weapon system included the naval variant of the Exocet missiles and are aimed towards engaging the Indian Navy's aircraft out to in the

. The routine deployment of the surface fleet as part of the Combined Task Force 151, Combined Task Forces provides the opportunity to the safeguard the sealines of communications. Since 1999, the

'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 (India), 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. 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. The Navy eventually pushed for attaining the naval-based nuclear second-strike capability in 2017 when the Inter-Services Public Relations, ISPR announced the Pakistan Navy's to have attained the sea-based second strike capability when it launched the nuclear Submarine-launched cruise missile, SLCM based on the Babur (cruise missile), Babur cruise missile, though the range of the SLCM remains to be at the short range.

Equipment

Ships: Surface combatants

The names of the commissioned warship and noncombat vessels of the Pakistan Navy are prefixed with the capital letters "PNS"— the Pakistan Navy Ship. The naming convention of the ship are selected by the

, often honouring the important people or places in the history of Pakistan, and then commissioned by the

President of Pakistan The president of Pakistan ( ur, , translit=s̤adr-i Pākiṣṭān), officially the President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is the ceremonial head of state of Pakistan and the commander-in-chief of the Pakistan Armed Forces.Official Website – Frigates

The Surface Fleet, established in 1947, is a pivotal component of the Navy with crucial role in maintaining the military balance with the

in the

, taking part in multinational task forces to prevent seaborne terrorism and piracy. The Navy currently operates approximately 100 vessels including ones used by the Maritime Security Agency (MSA) and

. In the current inventory, the Navy has a combination of British, American, Chinese, and locally produced ships including the American , British-designed , and locally-built (built with Chinese assistance). Decommissioning of the ageing destroyer has commenced due to construction of the additional missile guidance in Pakistan by 2021, and the acquisition of the Type 054A frigate, Jiangkai II-class frigates from China that started in 2017.
informationxone The ''Tariq'' class are the guided missile destroyers that are in the service with the 25th Destroyer Squadron while the F-22P Zulfiquar-class frigate, F-22P ''Zulfiquar'' class are the Guided Missile Frigate, guided missile frigate attached with the 18th Destroyer Squadron with a complement of the American-transferred (now PNS ''Alamgir'') in 2011. In 1992, the French Navy transferred its and helped designed the s 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 fast attack craft, ''Azmat''-class corvette based on the Chinese design of Type 37-II, 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. 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, Gölcük Naval Shipyard, MRTP. The ''Larkana''-class gunboats are locally produced at the Karachi Shipyard, KSEW Ltd. in Karachi that is in the current service with the Pakistan Navy, forming the Fast Patrol Craft Squadron. In addition to the Navy's operations of warships, the Navy operates twenty-two coast guard ships intended for the [Maritime Security Agency–most are imported from China while others are locally build to guard the coastal shoreline of Pakistan's seaborne borders from the illegal activities, followed by the ten of the locally designed and built Fast Patrol Boat, patrol boats for the Pakistan Coast Guards, Coast Guards for the safety and policing of the List of beaches in Pakistan, beaches in the country. In 2017, the Pakistan Navy entered in discussion with the

to acquire four of the MILGEM project, 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."
The Pakistan Navy Fleet Tanker Project (PNFT)
of which STM, one of Turkey's leading companies in the defence industry, is the prime contractor, joined the Pakistan Navy in 2018. 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. 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. 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. According to outgoing Chief of Naval Staff (CNS) statement, experts suggest Navy would induct Six Chinese Type 054A frigate, four Istanbul-class frigate, Jinnah class frigate under the transfer of Technology agreement from Turkey. Lastly, outgoing Chief of Naval Staff (CNS) Admiral Zafar Mahmood Abbasi revealed contract for Six more heavy tonnage warships has been signed. Experts believe these ships would be based on Chinese destroyers. In addition, Navy would operate four modified Ada class corvette's from Turkey, two multi-purpose Yarmook class corvettes built by Dutch shipbuilder Damen Group, Damen Shipyards and twenty fast attack missile boats.

Submarines

Established in 1964, the Submarine Command is a major component of the Navy whose primary mission is to conduct clandestine military reconnaissance for Intelligence cycle management, intelligence and carry out Precision Attack Missile, precision strikes on enemy positions from underwater during war. Hamza!

There are eight submarines in active service including the submarines, based on the Agosta-class submarine, ''Agosta-70A'' class, and three Italy, Italian–designed and locally–built Midget submarine, midget (designated as X-Craft) submarines. The submarines are powered with Diesel-electric submarine, diesel-electric and

.Anon. (14 April 2007
Pakistan Navy
''Pakistan Navy website''. The ''Hashmat''-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. They are armed with

and Babur (cruise missile), Babur-III missiles, which can be launched from underwater. Two of the three ''Agosta-90B'' class are currently undergoing refitting and modernisation by the Turkish firm, STM, and are expected to return to full active duty in 2020–21. Chinese Type 093 submarine

In 2014, Pakistan Navy entered in defence discussions with the People's Liberation Army Navy for the procurement of the Type 039A submarine, Yuan-class Air-independent propulsion, AIP powered submarines, and eventually succeeded when the technology transfer agreement was signed between Pakistan and China, two nations in April 2015. This Pakistan Navy SSP programme, national submarine program is known as features air-independent propulsion is being constructed as a joint-venture with China with the expectation of being commissioned between 2023 and 2028. In a direct response to , the Pakistan Navy eventually succeeded getting the proposal approved for building the Nuclear submarine, nuclear-powered submarine whose delivery is expected to between 2028, according to the Pakistan Navy officials. In April 2014, the Navy announced that submarine operations would move from Karachi Naval Dockyard, Naval Base Karachi to the new Jinnah Naval Base in Ormara. 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.

Auxiliaries, mine countermeasures, and amphibious warfare

UG-LK Photowalk - Colombo Harbour - 2017-03-12 (1)

The Navy has six Replenishment oiler, replenishment oil tankers, three minehunters, and four Griffon 2000TD hovercraft for the amphibious warfare. The Landing Craft Mechanized (LCM) are the important and center pieces for the amphibious operations undertaken by the Pakistan Marines, Marines Corps and Expeditionary warfare, expeditionary actions by the

as the two of the LCMs are commissioned by the Navy after being handed over by the Karachi Shipyard, KSEW Ltd. in 2016. In 1987, the Pakistan Navy commissioned , the , fleet tanker from China that was followed by the commissioning of , of the HNLMS Poolster (A835), ''Poolster'' class, from the Royal Netherlands Navy in 1988. 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. 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. 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. In 1992, the Navy increased its operational capabilities in Mine countermeasures vessel, mine countermeasures with the commissioning of from the French Navy, followed by the technology transfer to Pakistan which led the commissioning of two more mine countermeasure vessels from in 1996 and 1998. Together with the ''Munsif''-class minehunters and the replenishment oil tankers, these classes of ships are commissioned and complemented in the 9th Auxiliary Squadron. In 2018, the Pakistan Navy commissioned another 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. 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. The 21st Auxiliary Squadron consists of , a tall ship acquired from the

in 2010, PNS ''Behr Khusha'', a dredging vessel commissioned from China in 2008, and , that was commissioned from Japan in 1983.

Aircraft

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,

, anti-submarine warfare (ASW), and the anti-surface warfare (ASuW). Unlike the

, the Pakistan Navy does not have the rapid

based strike capability but relies its aerial strike operations from clear and traditionally long Landing strip, landing platform built at the PNS Mehran, Mehran Naval Air Station in Karachi. After realising the failure to protect the harbour from the attacks of the

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 , "Be it deserts or seas; all lie under our wings" (traditional) , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = ...

, which already covers the airspace of Pakistan, and established the naval aviation branch, the Pakistan Naval Air Arm, Naval Air Arm, in 1974. The Navy's principal aerial fighting branch is known as the Pakistan Naval Air Arm, Naval Air Arm whose initial pilots' training took place at the Pakistan Air Force Academy, Air Force Academy in Risalpur. The Navy operates the Fokker F27 Friendship, Breguet Atlantic, Breguet Atlantique, Lockheed P-3 Orion, ATR 72, and Hawker 800 as their fixed-wing aircraft inventory. The rotary-wing aircraft in the naval air arm includes the

and the

while the Westland Lynx, Lynx helicopters have now been removed from active service due to maintenance issues, and a tender has been issued for their removal. In addition, there are numbers of aircraft active in the Maritime Security Agency (MSA).

Weapon system and air defence

Current weapon systems in the Pakistan Navy is entirely composed and focused towards missiles, serving as both weapons or a defence from a threat. In 1971 with the Indian Navy's introduction of anti-ship missiles, Navy had the strong emphasis on classically using the Naval artillery, artillery and Naval ammunition, ammunition focusing towards the vintage tactics witnessed in the previous naval wars fought in the

. The Navy's primary air defence included the usage of the HQ-16, LY-80, HQ-7#HQ-7B (FM-90), FM-90, FIM-92 Stinger, RBS 70, FN-6, Feinu-6, Anza (missile), Anza and the Mistral (missile), Mistral system. The primary and standard rifle issued for the Navy is the Pakistan Ordnance Factories, POF G3P4, which is standard issue by the Pakistan Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Defense, and is based on the German design of the Heckler & Koch G3, Heckler and Koch G3 rifle. The Navy's air defence system are entrusted with the Pakistan Marines who receives their weapons training at the School of Infantry and Tactics in Quetta with the Pakistan Army soldiers. In 2016, the Navy inducted the Babur (cruise missile)#Harbah, Harbah cruise missile, based on the Babur (cruise missile), Babur design, that was test fired from the PNS Himmat– the missile boat. The Navy operates the Zarb (missile), Zarb cruise missile that was first test fired on 10 April 2016. The cruise missiles system in the Navy, the Babur (cruise missile)#Harbah, Harbah, Zarb (missile), Zarb, and even Babur (cruise missile), Babur–III, are the variants and derivatives of the improved engineered version of the first cruise missile that entered in the service of the Pakistan Army— the Babur (cruise missile), Babur cruise missile system in 2003. * FN-6, FN-16, the man-portable air-defense systems, tested on 25 December 2010 by Pakistan Marines with a range of 6 km and altitude ~ 3.5 km. * Mistral (missile), 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 Navy Service Uniform, service uniform as seen in the footage, and is worn on regular basis by the senior ranking star officers in the Navy. In the past times of 1947–2012, the Navy's uniform had closely followed the uniforms issued in the British

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. 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. The Special Service Group (Navy), Navy Special Service Group follows the Special Service Group, Army Special Service Group's authorised uniform and wears the U.S. Woodland, U.S. Woodland (M81) uniform while the Pakistan Marines have their own woodland pattern featuring light brown, olive green and blue shapes on a tan or light olive background.

Air defence systems

Naval Anti-ship Missiles

Bases and facilities

From 1947 to 1991, the entire Military installations in Karachi, naval infrastructure and bases of the Pakistan Navy were primarily based in

with the exception of the Naval Headquarters (Pakistan Navy), Navy NHQ in Islamabad. In the 1950s, it was the crucial help from the

that the

was built and constructed for wartime operations. Besides the Karachi Naval Dockyard, Naval Base Karachi, the PNS Dhaka in

was the only naval base for the Pakistan Navy, dedicated for coastal operations only After the Indian Navy's missile attacks in Karachi in 1971, the Navy concentrated on building and moving its operational assets in Balochistan, Pakistan, Balochistan, Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab, and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. These naval bases are operationalised for various purposes including the logistics and maintenance support, armoury and ammunition support, air stations, military hospitals, Sea, Air, and Land Teams, SEALs teams, coastal and missile defences, missile boats and submarine bases, forward operating bases etc. 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 Pakistan Naval War College, Naval War College in Lahore. The primary naval air station, where the Mirage 5 are stationed, is the PNS Mehran, Naval Air Station Mehran (PNS Mehran), followed by the establishment of the naval air stations in PNS Makran, Makran, PNS Ahsan, Ormara, PNS Siddiq, Turbat and the PNS Himalaya, Manora Island. In 2017, the PNS Siddiq was commissioned to support the aerial missions for the Navy's

reconnaissance group to guard the safety of the CPEC. The PNS Hameed, commissioned in 2017, is an Extremely low frequency, ELF and a Very low frequency, VLF facility near the Karachi coast, while the Karachi-based PNS Iqbal and the PNS Qasim serves for the operational activities dedicated for the Special Service Group (Navy), Navy Special Service Group and the Pakistan Marines, Marines Corps. The Jinnah Naval Base and the Kalmat Naval Base are dedicated towards maintaining and harbouring the country's strategic assets such as the nuclear-capable submarines. Besides deployment within Pakistan, the Pakistan Navy, along with the inter-services branches, are permanently based in different parts in the

and the United Arab Emirates.

PN Hospitals

Pakistan Navy has elaborate health care facilities, at Islamabad, Karachi and Coastal Areas. There are 04 PN Hospitals all over the country. * PNS Shifa Hospital (600 bed) * PNS Hafeez Hospital (200 bed) * PNS Rahat Hospital (200 bed) * PNS Darmanjha Hospital (100 bed) * PNS Rehmat Hospital (100 bed) (Purposed in Gwadar port city) PNS Shifa Hospital, SHIFA, its hospital at

is a 600-bed hospital, established in 1956. Another 200 bed hospital called PNS Rahat Hospital, RAHAT is also located in

to share the load of PNS Shifa Hospital, PNS SHIFA. It started as sick bay PNS Karsaz, PNS KARSAZ in 1954. Upgraded to naval medical center PNS Karsaz, PNS KARSAZ in 1973. Commissioned as PNS Rahat Hospital, PNS RAHAT hospital on 20th October 1994. Surge Cdr (Late) RASHID AHMED KHAN PN was appointed as first commanding officer. It provides outdoor as well as indoor treatment facilities. The hospital has a team of highly qualified medical doctors and surgeons, providing the best services to those who are engaged in the defence of this country. Similar health facilities exist at Navy’s Islamabad 200-bed hospital, called HAFEEZ. Darmanjha, its hospital at Ormara town district Gwadar is a 100-bed hospital, established in 2011.Specialised Units Specialised units with state of the art equipment exist in the following areas. The roles of PN Hospitals are: * To deal with emergency round the clock (24 hrs). * To provide reception and treatment of the sick and wounded personnel of Pakistan armed forces and civilians armed forces when required. * To provide medical cover and hospitalization facilities as indoor and outdoor patients to certain non entitled categories under special Governments sanction. * To provide specialized outdoor/indoor to retired arm forces officers their families and retired arm forces personnel. * To provide indoor/indoor treatments to families of retied CPOs, sailors (through Bahria Foundation ). * Medical board for impalement and categorization. * Medical examination for civilians for enrolments in Pakistan Navy. * Medical board for impalement and categorization.

FACILITIES

OUT DOOR FACILITIES I.MI ROOM II.STAFF SURGEON III.FWC(FAMILY OPD IN DOOR FACILITIES I.OFFICER WARD II.MEDICAL WARD III.SURICAL WARD IV.ICU V.OPERATION THEATRE VI.OFFICERS FAMILY WARD(GEN) VII.OFFICERS FAMILY WARD(GYNAE) VIII.CPOs SAILORS FAMILY WARD(GEN) IX.CPOs SAILORS FAMILY WARD(GYNAE) X.LABOUR ROOM XI.CT SCAN SPECIALISTS * Medical Specialist * Surgical Specialist * Gynecologist * Skin Specialist * Dental Specialist * Child Specialist * Heart Specialist * Eye Specialist * ENT Specialist * Pediatrican * Radiolgist * Pathologist * Physiologist

PNS&RCs

Personnel

Commissioned officers

CTF 150 Change of Command 131201-N-IZ292-079

From its commencement in August 1947, the Pakistan Navy had traditionally followed the Royal Navy officer rank insignia, ranks and insignia of the

but disbanded in favour of adopting the United States Navy officer rank insignia, officer ranks system of the

as early as the 1950s. 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 PNS Himalaya, boot camp in Manora Island— for one-and-half year for them to be able to Passing out (military), passed out from the academy. The Passing out (military), 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. The training of the Passing out (military), passed out midshipman usually lasts till six months before rotating back to the naval academy to be promoted as the Sub-lieutenant, Sub-Lieutenants. Their college education is provided by the Navy at the Pakistan Navy Engineering College, Naval Engineering College in

for three years that led them to earn the bachelor's degree in their choice of career. Pak Navy Sailors

The rank hierarchy in Navy is divided in three categories: junior officers, senior officers, and star officers— the Junior officers are those in pay grade scale of OF-1 to OF-3 while the senior officers are in scale of OF-4 to OF-5 and the star officers are in the pay grade scale from OF-6 to above OF-9. 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. According to the various admissions and estimations provided by the International Institute for Strategic Studies, the Pakistan Navy's combined strength of the standing navy is ~54,100 personnel including the active duty personnel, Navy Reserves, Pakistan Marines, Marines Corps, the Pakistan Maritime Security Agency (PMSA), and the personnel from the naval-side of the Pakistan Coast Guards, Coast Guards– the branch within the Pakistan Army.

Enlisted personnel

Pakisan First - Pakistan Navy sailors at the tomb of Quaid e Azam

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 Newspapers in Pakistan, print newspapers and Media of Pakistan, televised commercials twice a year– first group attending the boot camp in May and the second being directed on November. 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, Pakistan, Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh, and Balochistan, Pakistan, Balochistan. Before 1966, almost all the enlisted personnel and officers had to be sent to attend the military academies in the

to be educated and to be trained in technical branches for the Pakistan Navy. 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. 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 Universities In Pakistan, colleges and universities. 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 Their technical experiences in their fields is consolidated into the professional training that forms their basis to attend the respective university for them to earned the four-year college degree. The Non-commissioned officer, noncommissioned officers (or enlists) wear respective anchors color patches or badges chevrons on their shoulders. Retirement age for the enlisted personnel varies and depends on the enlisted ranks that they have attained during their services.

Recruitment and training

Parallel steps - Navy Guards replacing the Older Ones at Mazar-e-Quaid during Pakistan's Independence Day

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

whose training and education by the British

was crucial at all levels of cadet's learning and schooling. During its earliest time in 1947, the Department of Navy had only 3,800 personnel (200 Naval ranks and insignia of Pakistan, officers, 3,000 Enlists, and 500 civilian employees) as the Navy faced the same problems as its Pakistan Army, Department of Army as the most technical enlisted personnel and skilled executive officers were Punjabi Muslims while others had Urdu speaker, Urdu-speaking background (i.e. Indian people in Pakistan, Indian immigrants as naturalised citizens of Pakistan). After 1971, the Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Bhutto administration introduced the Quota system in Pakistan, quota system to give fair chance to the residents of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, Pakistan, Balochistan to enlist in the military. In 2012, Sanhia Karim became the first Balochi people, 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, Balochistan, Pakistan. 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. The Navy established three additional facilities in Balochistan to supervise the training to its personnel. Recruitment in the Navy remains to be challenge for the naval recruiters to enlists citizens and their selfless commitment to the military from the Urbanisation in Pakistan, urbanised metropolitan cities where the preference of college education (especially attending Postgraduate education, post-graduate schooling in the

and the Commonwealth of Nations, English-speaking countries) is much higher and strongly desirable. 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 in Pakistan, matriculation examinations are concluded. The Navy has only one Recruit training, boot camp, the PNS Himalaya, PNS ''Himalaya'' in Manora Island, where the Basic training, basic military training takes place. The basic military training at the PNS Himalaya goes for nine-months where instructions on military life is given while the Physical exercise, physical conditioning is strongly emphasised. 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 Passing out (military), passed out from the Naval Academy. Once passing out, the commissioned junior officers must spend six-month deployment in

before being selected to attend the professional schools, such as the Pakistan Navy Engineering College, Naval Engineering College in Karachi, to move towards attaining the bachelor's degree in a period of four-years. As the estimates made in 2003 and 2009, the Navy had approximately ~30,200 active duty personnel.''The Military Balance 2010'', p. 367, International Institute for Strategic Studies (London, 2010). In 2014, the estimates established the Navy's manpower strength at 30,700 active duty personnel. but its combined manpower strength is increased and approximated at ~40,500 personnel based on recent estimates in 2018.

Education and training

Schooling, teaching, and institutions

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. 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. When the Navy was established in 1947, there was no technical schools for the Navy to look after the ship maintenance and Machinist's mate, power machinery that led to the establishment of the Pakistan Naval Polytechnic Institute (PNPI) in 1951 and the Pakistan Navy Engineering College, Navy Engineering College in 1962 whose admissions are open to public besides the military personnel. From 1947 to 1967, the Navy had to rely on the education and training provided by the

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, Devon, Dartmouth and the Royal Naval College, Greenwich, Royal Naval College in Greenwhich who were mostly trained in communication and navigation. Training on the operations of warships and education on the Staff (military), military staffing was crucial for the Pakistan Navy in the 1960s under the

-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. In 1966, the Pakistan Naval Academy was established under the guidance of the

, and is a premier institution of higher learning whose alumni included the Commanders of the Qatar Armed Forces, Royal Qatari Navy, Royal Saudi Navy, and the Sri Lanka Navy while other nations naval cadets have also attended the naval academy. In 1968, the Pakistan Naval War College, Naval War College was established in Lahore, whose curriculum is very similar to the Naval War College in the

, 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. In 1970, the Pakistan Navy School of Logistics and Management, School of Logistics and Management was established that conducts research on military logistics and management in imparting Naval Warfare, naval warfare techniques to the military officers serving in the army, air force, and marines departments of the Pakistani military. After the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, 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: Source
Pakistan Navy (Official Website)
Quaid Block - PNS KARSAZ

Established in 1971, the National Defence University, Pakistan, 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 Military strategy, strategy level education to the senior military officers in the Pakistani military.Aqil Shah, The Army and Democracy: Military Politics in Pakistan (Harvard University Press, 2014), pp. 8–9 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. 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

. 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 degree, master's program at the NDU, usually Brigadier (United Kingdom), brigadiers, Air Commodore, air commodores, and Commodore (rank), 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. 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 behaviour in relation to state and society, and shared values affect how these officers perceive and respond to civilian governmental decisions, policies, and political crises. 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. Established in 1991, the National University of Sciences and Technology, Pakistan, National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST) has now absorbed and amalgamated the existing naval engineering college, and is a counterpart institution in Science and engineering, science and technology to that of the NDU in Islamabad. Besides the strategic and military education, the Navy leads the scientific programs at the Pakistan Naval Observatory, Naval Observatory for producing timing and navigation while it leads the research on hydrography by conducting the hydrographic survey for the Pakistani military through the PNS Behr Paima, and provides support to the oceanographic program led by the civilians National Institute of Oceanography (Pakistan), National Institute of Oceanography (NIO).

Naval jack

From 1947 to 1956, the Pakistan Navy had stuck with the Royal Indian Naval Ensign, Ensign of the

that featured the British Military colours, standards and guidons, Queen's colors and the white flag. The Navy continued the tradition that it inherited from the

and British culture that was common with the

until the American military advisers was attached the guide the Navy on military arts and science under the Military Advisory Assistance Group by the Eisenhower administration in 1956. Since then, the Navy's tradition and culture is commonly and uniquenly influenced from the

. After the promulgation of the Constitution of Pakistan, Constitution in 1956, the Navy gained its independence from the British :Organisations based in the United Kingdom with royal patronage, Royal patronage and became the federal institution of the armed forces commissioned by the elected

President of Pakistan The president of Pakistan ( ur, , translit=s̤adr-i Pākiṣṭān), officially the President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is the ceremonial head of state of Pakistan and the commander-in-chief of the Pakistan Armed Forces. 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 List of English monarchs, English Queen's Military colours, standards and guidons, colors 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 Flag of Pakistan, 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

as their primary war flag.

Civil society and business activities

The Pakistan Navy has played an integral part in the civil society of Pakistan, almost since its inception. In 1996, General Jehangir Karamat described Pakistan armed forces' relations with the society: In times of national calamities and emergencies, the Pakistan Navy has been deployed in relief operations and nation building programs in the country. In 2004, a tactical task force under then-

Asif Sandila coordinated the peacetime relief operations in Maldives, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, and

when the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, underwater earthquake caused a tsunami and struck the South Asian nations. In 2005, the Navy deployed the PNS Badr (D-184), PNS ''Badr (D-184)'' to help assists the relief efforts for the 2005 Kashmir earthquake, earthquake that struck the northern part of the country in October 2005. In 2010, the Navy coordinated one of its Operation Madad (Pakistan Navy), largest relief operations during the 2010 Pakistan floods, nationwide flash floods, with Navy divers rescuing and evacuating more than 352,291 people in August 2010. 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., 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). 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 away from

Corporate and business activities

The Pakistan Navy has the wider commercial and financial interests in the country, and is a forerunner of the Bahria Foundation (lit. Naval Foundation). 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. 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. For external billets appointment, the federal government takes the senior leadership of the Navy as secondment to manage the federal institutions such as the Karachi Port Trust,

, and the Gwadar Port, Port of Gwadar.

Awards and honours

Wartime Gallantry Awards

Nishan-e-Haider

In Pakistan Military Awards, military awards hierarchy, the Nishan-e-Haider, Nishan-e-Haidar (lit. ''Order of Lion''; Urdu: نشان حیدر; its abbreviation is noted as NH) is the highest and the most prestigious honour awarded posthumously for bravery and actions of valor in event of war. Established in March 1956 by the Constitution of Pakistan, Constitution, this award is an equivalent to the American Medal of Honor, British Victoria Cross (VC), Russian Order of St. Andrew, or the French Legion of Honour. 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''.} Recommendations in forms of Letter of recommendation, letters are received and then accepted by the

which recognises the martyred services of the one individual that distinguished by the his acts of valor during the events of the war. The honour is a namesake of Ali— the Rashidun caliphate, fourth caliph, the cousin, and the son-in-law of Muhammad, the Prophets and messengers in Islam, last prophet of Islam— and the recipients receiving this honorary title as a sign of respect: ''Shaheed'' meaning ''martyr''. From 1947 till 2019, there has been ten Pakistani military officers and enlisted personnel who have achieved this feat/or have honoured with this prestigious medal— out of which, Pakistan Army#Nishan-e-Haider, nine recipients have came from the Pakistan Army while there is only Rashid Minhas, one recipients from the

Pakistan Air Force , "Be it deserts or seas; all lie under our wings" (traditional) , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = ...

, that are bestowed with this prestigious medal. Almost all the recipients were martyred during their engagement in Indo-Pakistani wars and conflicts, wars with India in Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, 1965, Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, 1971, and in Indo-Pakistani War of 1999, 1999, and honoured with this prestigious award by the

President of Pakistan The president of Pakistan ( ur, , translit=s̤adr-i Pākiṣṭān), officially the President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is the ceremonial head of state of Pakistan and the commander-in-chief of the Pakistan Armed Forces. Since the commencement of the Navy on Fourteenth of August, August 1947, there has been no single naval officer or/ either a navy's enlisted member in the Pakistani military that has been honoured or bestowed with this prestigious medal— a recommendation was sent to honour Syed Yasir Abbas, one officer for his actions in the War on Terror in War in Afghanistan (2001–present), Afghanistan and the Western Pakistan but the recommendation was rejected by the

Notes

References

;Citations ;Internet *

External links

* {{Asia topic, Navy of, title=Navies of Asia Pakistan Navy, Military of Pakistan, Navy 1947 establishments in Pakistan Military units and formations established in 1947

History

Division of Royal Indian Navy in 1947

The beginning: 1947–1964

Reorganization under the United States Navy (1947–1964)

War with India and subsequent war deployments (1965–1970)

Indo-Pakistan war of 1971

Restructuring and building towards modern Navy: 1972–1989

Self reliance, engagement and covert operations (1990–1999)

War on Terror in Afghanistan and operations in North-West (2001–present)

Organization, Naval Headquarters

Principal Staff Commands and Principal Staff Officers

Organizations and Heads of Services, Pakistan Navy

Naval components and branches

Naval Commands in Field and Commanders

Special operations forces

Military philosophy

Combat doctrine

Equipment

Ships: Surface combatants

Submarines

Auxiliaries, mine countermeasures, and amphibious warfare

Aircraft

Weapon system and air defence

Air defence systems

Naval Anti-ship Missiles

Bases and facilities

PN Hospitals

FACILITIES

PNS&RCs

Personnel

Commissioned officers

Enlisted personnel

Recruitment and training

Education and training

Schooling, teaching, and institutions

Naval jack

Civil society and business activities

Corporate and business activities

Awards and honours

Wartime Gallantry Awards

Nishan-e-Haider

See also

Notes

References

External links