TAXILA, Dec 1: Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee chairman General Ehsanul Haq has said the government is determined to provide a credible defence with all possible means at its disposal.

He was speaking at the handing-over ceremony of indigenously-built air defence missile carriers to regiments of the Pakistan Army at the Heavy Industries Taxila on Friday.

He said the government was giving priority to operational preparedness of the armed forces and the Armed Forces Development Plan was a step in that direction.

He said rapid mobility and integral air defence elements were the key areas of modernisation of the Pakistan Army.

“The handing over of air defence missile carriers is another milestone in our indigenous weapons’ capability,” General Haq said. “Self-reliance, especially in the field of defence is a reflection of our national policy and the Heavy Industries Taxila plays an important role in it.” He said that with the induction of the first batch of the missile carriers, the country’s air defence capability would be further augmented.

In his welcome address, Lt-Gen Israr Ahmad Ghumman, chairman of the Heavy Industries Taxila, said the HIT was meeting the entire demand of tracked vehicles of the Pakistan Army.

He said the missile carriers had been designed and built at one of HIT factories.

He then invited Gen Haq to hand over the symbolic scrolls to commanding officers of regiments receiving the first batch of the vehicles.