KARACHI, Feb 8: Reaffirming the Pakistan Navy’s resolve to defend the country’s borders with conventional capability, Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Muhammad Afzal Tahir on Friday brushed aside as “self-serving” his Indian counterpart’s concerns about the Gwadar port, and hoped that India would not inject nuclear weapons into its naval arsenal.

Admiral Tahir, who had earlier spoken at length on “Threat of Terrorism and Security of Ocean Trade — What contribution can Pakistan Navy make?” was asked by Dawn what role he thought the navy would have amid reports of India acquiring nuclear-capable submarines and platforms.

The naval chief pointed out that Pakistan Navy had acquired the requisite conventional capability to defend its sea lanes and coastline. He said India had not armed its subs and other vessels with nuclear weapons so far but Pakistan was watchful.

He once again rejected the perception that Gwadar was developed for military purposes. “The port has been developed by a Chinese firm and its operation has been outsourced to a Singapore-based operator. China is not physically present in Gwadar,” he explained, adding that the port was developed for the betterment of Pakistani people.

In the context of Admiral Mehta’s concern over Gwadar port and his threat perception in this regard, Admiral Tahir said: “Similar concerns can also be expressed about a naval base developed south of Mumbai,” and added: “But it was not the subject of the day.”

Asked if he felt sea-borne terrorism threat to the Pakistan in view of the land-based conflict going on in Afghanistan amid reports of India’s involvement in cross-border terrorist attacks in Pakistan, Admiral Tahir said: “We have a fair amount of resources deployed. On occasion we have come across Indian-origin vessels in distress, so we have a fairly good idea of what is going on along the coast where there is a big gap between major settlements.”

Earlier, speaking at the Pakistan Institute of International Affairs, Admiral Tahir said Pakistan Navy was ensuring peace and stability in the vital sea lanes of the North Arabian Sea by carrying out effective surveillance of its areas of responsibility and by forging alliance with the Multinational Task Force operating in the region.

He gave a brief account of the PN contributions towards ensuring security of ocean trade through its participation in the Multinational Task Force-150 operating under the ambit of Coalition Maritime Campaign Plan (CMCP), which is the maritime component of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF).

He pointed out that the PN was the only regional navy to form part of the CMPC. The other navies in the CMCP were from the United States, Britain, Germany, France, Canada and Italy, he added.

He said that the primary objective of the task force was to maintain peace and stability and to preempt acts of terrorism, arms and drug trafficking and piracy in the area that included waters stretched from Pakistan coast to the Red Sea and from the Strait of Hormuz to the coast of Somalia.

Admiral Tahir said that 21 PN ships in rotation had participated in the CMCP since April 2004 and the PN also commanded the task force from April to August 2006.

PIIA Chairman Fatehyab Ali Khan presented the welcome address.