84 Facts About Pakistan Navy

1.

Pakistan Navy is a volunteer force which has been in conflict with neighbouring India twice on its sea borders, and has been repeatedly deployed in the Indian Ocean 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 United Nations.

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2.

The Pakistan Navy has several components including the Naval Aviation, Marines, and the Maritime Security Agency.

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3.

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.

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4.

Pakistan Navy is commanded by the Chief of Naval Staff, a four-star admiral, who is a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee.

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5.

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

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6.

The Armed Forces Reconstitution Committee allocated about the two-thirds of the assets of the Royal Indian Navy to the India while one third was given to Pakistan despite Pakistan having inherited the high percentage of delta areas on its coast and the large maritime area covering the Arabian sea on West and the Bay of Bengal on East.

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7.

Pakistan Navy endured a difficult history— with only 200 officers and 3,000 sailors were inherited to the Pakistan Navy– the most senior being Captain HMS Choudri who had little experience in the military staffing.

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8.

Additional problems relating to the Pakistan Navy were the lack of facilities and maintenance machinery, as the only naval dockyard on the subcontinent was located in Bombay in India.

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9.

Furthermore, the Pakistan 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.

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10.

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.

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11.

Command and control of the new Pakistan Navy was extremely difficult as Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan's administration had to extend the employment of large number of the Royal Pakistan Navy officers from the British Admiralty with Rear admiral James Wilfred Jefford appointed as the Flag Officer Commanding who worked on creating the contingency plan, "Short-term Emergency Plan ", to work up the frigates and naval defences in case of escalation of the war at sea.

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12.

In 1950, the Pakistan Navy's nationalisation took place when many officers from the air force and army volunteered to join the navy and NCOs gaining commission as an officers.

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13.

In 1951, the Pakistan government called for appointing native chiefs of the armed forces, but it was not until 1953 that a native navy chief was appointed.

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14.

Pakistan Navy handed over the command of 25th Destroyer squadron to a Polish naval officer, Commander Romuald Nalecz-Tyminski.

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15.

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 US Military Assistance Program.

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16.

In 1957, the Pakistan Navy finalised the purchase of a cruiser from the United Kingdom and used the government's own funds for the purchase which caused a great ire against Admiral Choudhri in the Finance Ministry.

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17.

Proposal of attaining the aircraft carrier was deferred due to financial constraints, forcing Pakistan Navy to move towards establishing the formidable submarine command.

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18.

The naval chief Admiral Afzal Rahman Khan ordered all war units of the Pakistan Navy to take up defensive positions off the coast, but did not order any offensive operations in the Bay of Bengal.

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19.

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.

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20.

In 1966, the Pakistan Navy established its own special operations force, the Navy Special Service Group after the recommendations from the United States Navy.

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21.

Pleas for strengthening the Navy in East Pakistan were ignored due to monetary issues and financial constraints restricted the Navy's capabilities to function more efficiently.

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22.

Such events had jeopardised the operational scope of the Navy and the Navy NHQ staffers and commanders knew very well that it was ill-prepared for the war and Pakistan was about to learn the consequences of disconnecting strategy from reality.

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23.

East-Pakistan's geography was surrounded by India on all three landward sides by the Indian Army as the Navy was in attempt to prevent India from blocking the coasts.

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24.

The Indian Navy retaliated with a second missile attack on Pakistan's coast on the night of 8 December 1971 when a small flotilla of Indian vessels, consisting of a missile boat and two frigates, approached Karachi and launched a missile attack that sank the Panamanian cargo ship Gulf Star, PNS Dacca and the British merchant ship SS Harmattan were damaged.

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25.

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.

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26.

In January 1972, the Bhutto administration formed the POW Commission to investigate the number of war prisoners held by the Indian Army in East and submitted the request to the Supreme Court of Pakistan Navy to investigate the causes of the war failure with India in 1971.

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27.

In 1973, the Pakistan Navy NHQ was permanently moved to Islamabad to provide synergy with the Army GHQ in Rawalpindi.

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28.

In 1976, the Pakistan Navy moved towards successfully acquiring the military computers from the British firm, the Ferranti, to increase its defences for its coastlines.

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29.

In 1976, Pakistan Navy saw its first four-star rank admiral when Mohammad Shariff was promoted to this rank, and later becoming the first admiral to be appointed as the Chairman of Joint Chiefs Committee in 1977.

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30.

Since 1987, the Pakistan Navy had been interested in acquiring the Type 21 frigates from the United Kingdom, and the Navy turned to the Royal Navy for an immediate purchase which was approved in 1993 whose expensive refitting and technological upgrades had to carried out by Pakistan itself at their Naval Base in Karachi over the years.

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31.

In 1994, the Pakistan Navy entered in lengthy, complicated, and controversial negotiation with France to acquire the long-range submarine technology by dismissing the idea of procuring nuclear-powered submarine from China due to noise issue that the Indian Navy was quiet able to track.

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32.

In 1994, the Pakistan Navy was deployed in support of the US Pakistan Navy and extended its support in 1995 to participate in Operation United Shield to conclude its side of operation after evacuating personnel and equipment of the army, marines, and air force.

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33.

Pakistan Navy was forced to deploy its existing war assets when the Indian Navy deployed its warships near Korangi Creek Cantonment and Port of Karachi with their codename: Operation Talwar.

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34.

In 2001, the Pakistan Navy took serious consideration of deploying the nuclear weapons on its submarines although none of the nuclear weapons were ever deployed in the submarines.

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35.

From 2010 to 2011, the Pakistan Navy was in a brief direct conflict with the violent TTP group and al-Qaeda, and its Naval Intelligence was able to track down the infiltrated militants within the ranks of the Pakistan Navy.

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36.

In 2015, the Pakistan Navy was deployed in support of the Saudi-led blockade of Yemen after accepting the request from the Saudi Arabia.

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37.

Leadership in the Pakistan Navy is provided by the Minister of Defense, leading and controlling the direction of the department of navy from the Naval Secretariat-II at the Ministry of Defense, with the Defense Secretary who is responsible for the bureaucratic affairs of the army's department.

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38.

War functions of the Navy is controlled from the single combat headquarters, the Navy NHQ, located in Islamabad at vicinity of the Joint Staff Headquarters and the Army GHQ in Rawalpindi Cantonment in Punjab in Pakistan.

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39.

Organizations and the Heads of Services operating in the Pakistan Navy and reporting directly to the Naval Chief are as follows:.

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40.

Since its restructuring and reorganisation over the several years, the Pakistan Navy now operates eight operational and tactical field commands and two major type commands, two of the important commands of aviation and submarines are reporting directly to the senior Pakistan Fleet Command.

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41.

The appointment to the senior fleet commander known as s Commander, Pakistan Fleet leads the navy's entire fleet with a responsibility of deploying the entire combat formations of the navy.

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42.

Pakistan Navy Special Service Group is a tighter unit composed of highly qualified and selected personnel who are modelled on and inspired by the US Pakistan Navy SEALs training and tradition.

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43.

On 14 April 1990, the Pakistan Marines were again recommissioned in the Navy with about 2,000 personnel.

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44.

Military doctrine and philosophy of the Pakistan Navy is primarily directed towards preventing the Indian Navy repeating the 1971 blockade of the Pakistani coasts.

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45.

From 1947 until 1971, the Pakistan Navy was effectively little more than a coast guard because the Government of Pakistan did not give importance to the strategy of protecting the sea lines of communication.

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46.

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.

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47.

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

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48.

Names of the commissioned warship and noncombat vessels of the Pakistan Navy are prefixed with the capital letters "PNS"— the Pakistan Navy Ship.

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49.

Steel-cutting ceremony for the second Type 054A frigate for the Pakistan Navy was held in China on 19 December 2018, marking the beginning of construction of the vessel at the Hudong-Zhonghua shipyard in Shanghai, China.

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50.

In 2014, Pakistan Navy entered in defence discussions with the People's Liberation Army Navy for the procurement of the Yuan-class AIP powered submarines, and eventually succeeded when the technology transfer agreement was signed between two nations in April 2015.

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51.

In May 2008, the Pakistan 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.

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52.

Pakistan Navy has six replenishment oil tankers, three minehunters, and four Griffon 2000TD hovercraft for the amphibious warfare.

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53.

The Pakistan Navy 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.

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54.

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.

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55.

Aircraft in the Pakistan Navy provides the logistical support to the navy's readiness at all level of commands and serves as the supply platform, through helicopters, to conduct the search and rescue, special operations, anti-submarine warfare, and the anti-surface warfare.

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56.

Pakistan Navy operates the Fokker F27 Friendship, Breguet Atlantique, Lockheed P-3 Orion, ATR 72, and Hawker 800 as their fixed-wing aircraft inventory.

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57.

Current weapon systems in the Pakistan Navy is entirely composed and focused towards missiles, serving as both weapons or a defence from a threat.

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58.

Primary and standard rifle issued for the Pakistan Navy is the POF G3P4, which is standard issue by the Ministry of Defense, and is based on the German design of the Heckler and Koch G3 rifle.

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59.

In 2016, the Pakistan Navy inducted the Harbah cruise missile, based on the Babur design, that was test fired from the PNS Himmat– the Azmat-class missile boat.

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60.

The Pakistan Navy operates the Zarb cruise missile that was first test fired on 10 April 2016.

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61.

Military uniform in the Pakistan Navy includes the full white-worn service uniform as seen in the footage, and is worn on regular basis by the senior ranking star officers in the Navy.

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62.

In 2014, the Pakistan 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.

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63.

Navy Special Service Group follows the Army Special Service Group's authorised uniform and wears the US Woodland 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.

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64.

From 1947 to 1991, the entire naval infrastructure and bases of the Pakistan Navy were primarily based in Karachi with the exception of the Navy NHQ in Islamabad.

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65.

From its commencement in August 1947, the Pakistan Navy had traditionally followed the ranks and insignia of the Royal Navy but disbanded in favour of adopting the officer ranks system of the United States Navy as early as the 1950s.

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66.

Rank hierarchy in Pakistan 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.

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67.

Besides the military officers, the Department of Pakistan Navy offers employments to civilians in financial management, accountancy, medical services, computing, and administration, and has currently employed ~2,000 civilians that met the Pakistan Navy's quota in 2018.

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68.

In 2012, the Pakistan Navy pushed its personnel strength to Balochistan after sending a large formation of Baloch university students to Pakistan Navy Engineering Colleges and War College as well as staff schools to complete their officer training requirements.

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69.

The Pakistan Navy established three additional facilities in Balochistan to supervise the training to its personnel.

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70.

Recruitment in the Pakistan Navy remains to be challenge for the naval recruiters to enlists citizens and their selfless commitment to the military from the urbanised metropolitan cities where the preference of college education is much higher and strongly desirable.

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71.

Furthermore, the medical standards and education levels required by the Department of Pakistan Navy to be able to perform technical jobs poses significant challenges as the Pakistan Navy requiring the significant percentage marks once the matriculation examinations are concluded.

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72.

Pakistan Navy has only one boot camp, the PNS Himalaya in Manora Island, where the basic military training takes place.

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73.

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.

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74.

From 1947 to 1967, the Pakistan Navy had to rely on the education and training provided by the Royal Pakistan Navy at all levels of schooling, and had to send most of its officers and enlisted men to be trained at the Britannia Royal Naval College at the Dartmouth and the Royal Naval College in Greenwhich who were mostly trained in communication and navigation.

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75.

In 1966, the Pakistan Naval Academy was established under the guidance of the United States Navy, and is a premier institution of higher learning whose alumni included the Commanders of the Royal Qatari Navy, Royal Saudi Navy, and the Sri Lanka Navy while other nations naval cadets have attended the naval academy.

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76.

Besides the strategic and military education, the Navy leads the scientific programs at the 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.

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77.

From 1947 to 1956, the Pakistan Navy had stuck with the Ensign of the Royal Indian Navy that featured the British Queen's colors and the white flag.

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78.

Naval jack and the ensign flag of the Navy immediately replaced the English Queen's 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 national flag of Pakistan.

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79.

Pakistan Navy has played an integral part in the civil society of Pakistan, almost since its inception.

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80.

In times of national calamities and emergencies, the Pakistan Navy has been deployed in relief operations and nation building programs in the country.

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81.

In 2005, the Pakistan Navy deployed the PNS Badr to help assists the relief efforts for the earthquake that struck the northern part of the country in October 2005.

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82.

In 2010, the Pakistan Navy coordinated one of its largest relief operations during the nationwide flash floods, with Pakistan Navy divers rescuing and evacuating more than 352,291 people in August 2010.

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83.

From 1996 to 2000, the Pakistan 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.

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84.

In 2002, the Pakistan 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 Pakistan Navy in 2018.

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