August 02, 2007	Thursday	Rajab 17, 1428

KARACHI, Aug 1: Pakistan Navy has assumed the command of Multinational Task Force for its second term.

According to Inter-Services Public Relations, the Task Force-150 includes naval assets from US, Britain, France, Australia, Italy, Japan, Germany, the Netherlands and Spain besides Pakistan.

Addressing change of command ceremony, held at the headquarters Naval Central command at Bahrain, the newly appointed commander Task Force, Commodore Khan Hasham Bin Siddique, said that reposing command of a major maritime coalition force in the region for the second time was a great honour and matter of significance for Pakistan Navy.

Commodore Hasham observed that this was also an acknowledgment of Pakistan’s unflinching resolve to assist international coalition in maintaining a lawful maritime order.

The area of responsibility of Task Force-150 spans over North Arabian Sea to Horn of Africa, with focus of operations around Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf.

Its objectives are to maintain peace and stability on sea lanes of communication and to prevent illegal activities like human trafficking, drugs and weapons smuggling and movement of terrorists.

Pakistan Navy has been contributing her assets in this international campaign since April 2004.