Pakistan Navy
The Pakistan Navy (PN) (Urdu: پاک بحریہ, romanised: Pāk Bahrí'a, pronounced [ˈpaːk baɦɽia]) is the naval warfare branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The Chief of the Naval Staff, a four-star admiral, commands the navy. The Pakistan Navy operates on the coastline of Pakistan in the Arabian Sea and Gulf of Oman. It was established in August 1947 following the independence of Pakistan.[5]
The primary role of the Pakistan Navy is to defend Pakistan's sea frontiers from any external enemy attack.[6][7] In addition to its war services, the Navy has mobilised its war assets to conduct humanitarian rescue operations at home as well as participating in multinational task forces mandated by the United Nations to prevent seaborne terrorism and piracy off the coasts.[8][9]
The Pakistan Navy is a volunteer force which has been in conflict with neighbouring India twice on its sea borders. It 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.[10]: 88 The Pakistan Navy has several components including Naval Aviation, Marines, and the Maritime Security Agency (a coast guard).[11][12][13] Since its commencement, 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.[14]
The Chief of the Naval Staff is nominated by the Prime Minister and appointed by the President of Pakistan. Admiral Naveed Ashraf is the incumbent chief since 7 October 2023.[4]
History
[edit]Division of the Royal Indian Navy in 1947
[edit]Today is a historic day for Pakistan, doubly so for those of us in the Navy. The Dominion of Pakistan has come into being and with it a new Navy – the Royal Pakistan Navy – has been born. I am proud to have been appointed to command it and serve with you at this time. In the coming months, it will be my duty and yours to build up our Navy into a happy and efficient force
— Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, addressing the men and officers of HMIS Godavari in March 1948[15]
The Pakistan Navy came into existence on 15 August 1947 with the establishment of Pakistan as an independent state from the United Kingdom.[15] The Armed Forces Reconstitution Committee (AFRC), under Field Marshal Auchinleck, the last British Commander-in-Chief, India (C-in-C, India), divided the shares and assets of the Royal Indian Navy (RIN) between India and Pakistan in a ratio of 2:1,[16]: conts. despite Pakistan having inherited the high percentage of delta areas on its coast and the large maritime area covering the Arabian Sea on the West and the Bay of Bengal on the East.[17]: 90 Pakistan received two sloops, two frigates, four minesweepers, two naval trawlers and four harbour launches.[18]: 45–46 In addition, India also objected to transfer any machinery at the Bombay Dockyard to Pakistan and further refused to part the machinery that happened to be on its soil.[19]: 90
The navy endured a difficult beginning—of only 200 officers and 3,000 sailors inherited, the most senior was Captain HMS Choudri, who had little experience in military staffing.[18]: 45 Of the 200 officers, twenty had come from the executive branch of the Royal Indian Navy,.[20] Only six officers were mechanical engineers. There were no electrical engineers or specialists to care for the electrical systems used for weapons or other machinery.[18]: 47 The navy suffered perennial problems with inadequate staff, lack of operational bases, lack of financial support, and poor technological and personnel resources.[18]: 45 It was the smallest military branch, and lacked importance in federal budgeting.[18]: 46
Defence plans were based primarily from the point of view of the army and air force.[18]: 46 The navy lacked facilities and maintenance machinery, as the only naval dockyard on the subcontinent was located in Bombay in India.[18]: 46
To overcome these difficulties, the navy launched a recruitment programme for the young nation, starting in East Pakistan. Sustaining the programme there proved difficult; therefore, it was moved to concentrate recruitment in West Pakistan.[18]: 46 Furthermore, procurement was greatly determined by the navy's role in previous wars. Most functions were in coastal defense and monitoring sea lanes, not in combat, making it difficult to justify spending on major weapons systems.[21]: 66
The beginning: 1947–1964
[edit]Reorganisation (1947–1964)
[edit]
The Navy's combat actions largely remained in absence during the first war with India in 1947–48 as all the fighting was restricted to land and aerial combat missions.[23]: 474 On operational planning, Captain HMS Choudri had engaged on commanding a former RIN destroyer from Karachi to Bombay to oversee the evacuation of Indian emigrants to Pakistan.[23]: 474 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.[18]: 48
Command and control of the new Royal Pakistan Navy was extremely difficult as Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan's administration had to extend the employment of a large number of the Royal Navy officers from the British Admiralty, with Rear Admiral James Wilfred Jefford, RN, appointed as the Flag Officer Commanding (FOC) who worked on creating the contingency plan, "Short-term Emergency Plan (STEP)", to work up the frigates and naval defences in case of escalation of the war at sea.[15][18]: 48 In 1948, the Directorate-General for the Naval Intelligence (DGNI), a staff corps, was established under Lieutenant S. M. Ahsan, who served as its first Director-General, in Karachi.[15] 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 Royal Navy.[18]: 49
The Royal Pakistan Navy greatly depended on the generous donations from the British Royal Navy with two