Senate body asks govt to prepare maritime security plan

ISLAMABAD: The Senate Standing Committee on Defence has asked the government to prepare a national maritime security plan keeping in view the emerging threats in the region.

Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed, chairman of the Senate Standing Committee on Defence, has described the role of the Pakistan Navy as “pivotal” in the prevailing geopolitical scenario with Gwadar Port being a linchpin of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

Talking to the media here on Sunday after the recent visit of the Senate committee to the naval installations in Karachi, Gwadar and Ormara, Sayed praised the Pakistan Navy’s proactive role in the social, economic
and educational development of the coastal regions of Balochistan, thereby promoting national integration.

Referring to the visit of the Senate committee, Sayed said that senators received briefings from Admiral Zakaullah. He said that Admiral Zakaullah was a thorough professional. He said that in the emerging regional scenario the focus would be on protection of the sea-lanes. He said there would be a great competition, especially among the United States, China, Japan and India, revolving around their navies. He said that Pakistan would play a strategic role in this competition since Gwadar Port was pivotal to the CPEC and Pakistan was part of the maritime Silk Road as well as the Silk Road land corridor.

The chairman of the Senate committee informed the media that he would be presenting a report on the committee’s recent visit to the naval installations to the Senate tomorrow so that the Senate can discuss and debate this issue in the context of the increasingly important role of the Pakistan Navy.

Sayed asked the government to prepare a national maritime security plan given the emerging regional scenario and the role of the Pakistan Navy and establish a new shipyard in Gwadar to supplement the one in Karachi. He said the government should develop a strategy to use the 50,000 square kilometres of the continental shelf that Pakistan gained recently for its economic and security benefit. He said that such a large continental shelf had the potential of being transformed into the ‘fifth province’ of Pakistan.