KARACHI, Sept 17: The 2012 edition of the annual Pakistan Navy maritime exercise Seaspark-12 commenced on Monday.

An Inter-Services Public Relations (navy) press release said that the exercise would be conducted in the north Arabian Sea.

It said that Seaspark exercises, a permanent feature of the Pakistan Navy operational calendar, were conducted with the main objective of assessing the operational readiness of the force and providing an opportunity to officers and men to operate under multi-threat environment and exercise responses accordingly.

The exercise would also provide a new impetus to Pakistan’s resolve of maintaining peace, security and stability in the region, which is important for smooth daily life and economic activity in the world in general and Pakistan in particular.

Opening brief of the exercise was held on Monday morning at the PN dockyard in an event attended by Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Mohammad Asif Sandila.

Force commanders presented their plans during the brief.

Participating units in the exercise, which also included elements/supporting units from Pakistan Air Force and Pakistan Army, had been divided into ‘blue’ and ‘orange’ forces which would be pitched against each other in specific threat environment, the statement added. —APP