KARACHI: The Pakistan Navy commenced a major maritime exercise in the metropolis on Wednesday to test combat readiness against threats.

The opening brief of the maritime exercise, named SEASPARK-2026, was presided over by Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Naveed Ashraf and attended by senior officers from other branches of the armed forces.

“The exercise rigorously tests Pakistan Navy’s combat readiness against conventional and emerging maritime threats, integrating ships, submarines, aircraft, unmanned systems, marines, special forces and joint Army and Air Force elements,” said a statement issued here.

It added that the exercise focuses on rehearsing multi-domain operations by “integrating maritime, air, land, cyber and space-enabled capabilities”, as well as operations in the information environment to “secure decisive advantage in the information battlespace” alongside kinetic operations at sea.

Earlier, the naval chief also visited fleet units of the Pakistan Navy and reviewed ongoing operations.

Speaking on the occasion, he stressed that the evolving security environment demands “uncompromising readiness, enhanced tri-service integration, adaptability and effectiveness across physical and information domains”.

Published in Dawn, September 3rd, 2026