KARACHI, May 20: Pakistan Navy’s strategic profile has been enhanced since it joined the coalition navies in the global war against terrorism and there have been no maritime terrorist incident in the North Arabian Sea region during the past two years.

This was stated by chief staff officer to the Commander Pakistan Navy Fleet, Commodore Khan Hasham bin Siddiqui in a briefing to French and Pakistani media.

The briefing was also attended by Consul-General of France in Karachi Pierre Seillan.

Referring to Pakistan Navy’s responsibilities as Commander Task Force 150 at USNAVCENT headquarters in Bahrain, he said that senior Pakistani officers had been deputed there to perform command and intelligence functions.

Highlighting the country’s strategic location, he said its proximity to potential terrorist hotbeds made Pakistan pivotal and a natural ally for promoting global peace.

He said that the North Arabian Sea, adjoining Pakistan’s coast, constituted a critical area for supporting efforts ashore.

Pakistan Navy, he said, was the only regional navy to be fully involved in operations at sea side by side with navies of Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, the USA and Britain, which formed the coalition maritime force.

At present, coalition forces were involved in conducting intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance and interdiction operations in the area falling under the domain of the US Central Command (Centcom), spanning from Kazakhstan to Syria and Kenya and Somalia on the East African coast.

He said that the force’s area of operation covered Horn of Africa, including the Gulf of Aden, the Somali Basin and the Red Sea besides covering the Arabian Sea.

The area of operation, he said, had been divided into the North Arabian Sea, the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman. Other areas were in the Gulf, excluding the Strait of Hormuz.