KARACHI, Oct 9: Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Shahid Karimullah said on Thursday that achieving expertise in the field of submarine construction was a great honour for the country.

He said that so far only a few countries had submarine building capability and it was a matter of pride for Pakistan to join the elite club.

“The dream of proudly operating indigenously constructed submarines in the depth of sea has now come true, for which we are extremely thankful to Almighty Allah, who enabled us to materialize this long-cherished dream,” he added.

He was addressing a ceremony, held at the Pakistan Navy Dockyard, in connection with the successful depth trials of the first indigenously-built Agosta 90-B submarine of the PN.

Admiral Karimullah said that the PN held the prime responsibility of safeguarding maritime frontiers of the country and ensuring safety of its sea-trade routes.

The PN Dockyard, through its technical expertise, professionalism and dedication, had come up to the expectations of the nation, he added.

Expressing his gratitude for the government of France for assisting the mega project, he said that this was a demonstration of long-standing friendly ties between the two countries.

Particularly mentioning the contribution of those French engineers, who were killed in a terrorist act on May 8, 2002, the admiral said: “we owe them for their valuable services which will ever be remembered.”

The naval chief thanked the French government for continuing its support for the project, despite the terrorist act, which was feared to sabotage the whole project.

“This indicates that great nations never give up and remain unaffected by such untoward incidents and always move forward to achieve their desired goals,” he added.

He said that the day is not far away when this submarine, flourishing the flag of Pakistan, will fully make its presence felt in the high seas.

In his welcome address, Commander Logistics Rear Admiral Farooq Rashid highlighted the salient features of the submarine construction project.

He also gave details of different phases of sea trials of the PN submarine.

He specially mentioned the professional skills of those civilians of PN, who were zealously engaged round the clock in the project.

He lauded the PN for its expertise and devotion.—APP