Pakistan gets eight Orion patrol aircraft from US
Pakistan Times Staff Report

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has taken delivery of eight P-3C Orion patrol aircraft from the United States, a military statement said, in the latest arms sale by Washington to its key ally in the "war on terror"

The Pakistani Navy now has 10 of the high-tech submarine hunting planes, which US officials have said will strengthen surveillance of Pakistan's coastal and border regions in a bid to stop the movement of terrorists and drugs.

The delivery of the aircraft comes five months after the United States announced plans to sell an undetermined number of F-16 aircraft to Pakistan.

Pakistan Navy chief Admiral Shahid Karimullah said in the statement that the acquisition of the P-3 aircraft was a "significant achievement" and would add a new dimension to the "offensive punch" of his fleet.

"The aircraft are being provided free of cost by the US Navy and the expenses for modification of aircraft avionics systems will be met mostly from the US military aid," the statement said on Wednesday.

Nuclear rival India has previously expressed concern over the sale of arms to Pakistan, but in recent months Washington has increasingly moved to bring New Delhi onside as well.

Orions, manufactured by US defence firm Lockheed Martin, are long-range maritime patrol aircraft with an endurance of 18 hours and can carry Harpoon anti-shipping missiles.

Pakistan has stood alongside the United States since the September 11, 2001, terror attacks, when President Pervez Musharraf backed the US-led invasion of Afghanistan to topple the hardline Taliban regime.

Since then Pakistan has captured a host of key Al-Qaeda operatives, including the network's alleged number three, Abu Faraj al-Libbi, in May this year.

Major non-NATO ally

Washington named Islamabad a major non-NATO ally last year and the US Senate in January approved a 388 million dollar budget which included military aid to Pakistan and Afghanistan.

The allocation was designed to bolster the capabilities of Pakistani forces along the rugged border with Afghanistan, where many officials believe Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden is hiding.

It followed an earlier notification by US defense officials of a possible 1.3-billion-dollar arms package for Pakistan, which included the eight Orion planes.

Multi-purpose Frigates

The United States has agreed to provide Pakistan with two multi-purpose frigates, which have the state-of-the-art technology. But the delivery is possible only after approval by the American Congress.

Talking to media persons here, the Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Shahid Karimullah said that talks were also held between Pakistan and Britain on acquiring type 23 frigates but they could not materialise.

However, Pakistan Navy is also acquiring frigates from China and they will reach here in three and a half years time, he added.

The naval chief hoped that dialogue between Pakistan and India on Kashmir might get boost when President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh would meet in New York on the sidelines of UN General Assembly meeting in September.

Talks on Kashmir

Admiral Karimullah said the talks on Kashmir went well in the first six months but later they died down. He said it looked as if India was not interested in taking concrete measures on Kashmir.

The admiral, however, hoped that the leadership of the two countries would find some substantial progress in their New York talks.

To a question, the naval chief said Pakistan Navy would soon test the latest version of Babar cruise missile to gauge its accuracy.

Admiral Shahid Karimullah said navy has received eight P3C Orion aircraft, which will help in better surveillance on the borders. He said Pakistan Navy has been neglected in the past but now President Pervez Musharraf has done a lot to bring it at par with other navies. But that will take some time, he added.

Objective of a Good Book

Earlier, addressing the book launching ceremony, Admiral Karimullah said the prime objective of a good book is to nourish thoughts of its reader so that when he finishes reading, his paradigm about certain aspect is changed.

He said the author, Rear Admiral (Retd) Mian Zahir Shah, has successfully achieved this objective with his mastery on pen and choice of words and composed a wonderful and easy to understand book on a complicated naval rescue operation.

The book titled ‘Sea Phoenix - A True Submarine Story’ narrates an incident in such a manner that not only gives a live picture of the happening but at the same time is thought provoking and purposeful for which the writer deserves great applause, the admiral added.

Mian Zahir Shah has also authored another book titled ‘Bubbles of Water’, a collection of naval anecdotes, published in 2001.

Admiral Shahid Karimullah said Pakistan Navy (PN) will soon test fire cruise missile saying that Islamabad will also get four US and two Chinese frigates soon.

“Our conventional capabilities are less than India and Pakistan will have to make nuclear submarine itself because no one will give it to us,”Admiral Shahid maintained.

“We have no nuclear submarine and India has 17 units while we have only five,
On cruise missile test fire, he announced that a submarine initially would conduct cruise missile test fire and later it would be carried out through a warship.●