Daily Times

Pakistan inherited a very modest navy at the time of independence which was barely capable of defending the two vast stretches of sea astride the adversary. Realising the need for a stronger naval defence Pakistan embarked upon the journey of building its naval capabilities mostly through foreign acquisitions. Given the availability of meagre resources in hand, quality over quantity was always a preferred choice. At the time of 1965 war, Pakistan Navy enjoyed the edge over India in submarine warfare. PN submarine Ghazi, the only one in the inventory at that time, was able to paralyse complete Indian fleet inside harbour throughout the war.

​The naval capabilities in all 3 domains vis-a-vis surface, subsurface and air had been further enhanced by the time Pakistan and India fought 1971 war. During the war, PN submarine Hangor performed a historic event when it sank Indian ship Khukri while severely damaging its sister ship Kirpan and escaped unscathed the Indian wrath which was in the form of hunt for Hangor. These momentous events are recorded in the chronicles of history forever and shall be cherished by the generations to come.

​Pakistan Navy added another dimension to its operations when it reactivated Marines in 1990; earlier deactivated post 1971 war. The Marines look after creeks area, security and air defence of navy. Professional excellence across all four dimensions at an uncompromising standard is the hallmark of Pakistan Navy which today serves as a formidable maritime force in the region. Its prowess and professional competence has been acknowledged by the leading navies around the world. Pakistan Navy has been part of Combined Maritime Force in the region since 2002 and has commanded Combined Task Force-150, one of its components, for 12 times since then. Pakistan Navy has also hosted AMAN exercise since year 2007 in which navies around the world participate; underscoring acknowledgement of PN’s professional bondage with them. Besides collaboration with the foreign navies, Pakistan Navy also took initiative of conducting Regional Maritime Security Patrol to maintain presence and ensure peace at important chokepoints and maritime areas, in line with international obligations. Besides, maritime diplomacy via port calls as well as providing humanitarian assistance and disaster relief to different parts of the world speak of its reach and connectivity.

​ Pakistan Navy took a lead over India in submarine warfare and has always maintained it throughout. With the proficiency in submarine warfare Pakistan Navy has also been adroit in anti-submarine tactics which have been repeatedly demonstrated against Indian submarines trying to enter and loiter across Pakistani waters. A brief account of these encounters in recent past reveals that on 14th of November 2016, a Type-209 submarine was detected between Gwadar and Ormara which was veered off Pakistani waters. On 4th of March 2019, Scorpène-class submarine INS Kalvari was “detected and localised” some 86 nautical miles from Gwadar. On 16th of October 2021, the Indian submarine was detected approximately 283km (176 miles) south of Karachi which was ultimately hushed away. Of late, on 1 Mar 2022, Pakistan Navy’s anti-submarine warfare unit detected another Indian Kalvari class submarine, the latest in their inventory. This specifically is a hallmark achievement by PN as the pride of IN’s submarines inventory, state of the art platform has been exposed in the pitch dark night.

On the contrary, Indian submarines service has been on a decline and has seen some worst accidents during last two decades. Maritime Study Forum, a Pakistani online magazine and think-tank in Islamabad, identifies that INS Sindhughosh met collision in 2008; INS Sindhurakshak had fire on-board in 2010 and suffered flooding leading to its sinking in 2013; INS Shankush caught fire in 2010; INS Sindhuratna had a major fire on-board in 2014 and INS Arihant had faced a major damage due to flooding in 2017 making her out of action for nearly 9 months. These catastrophic accidents speak volumes about their dubious professional competence and insensitivity in handling sophisticated equipment purchased from valuable tax money of Indian populace.

It is imperative to understand here the importance of Indian submarine detection on 4th of Mar 2019. On 27th of February 2019, Pakistan Air Force through Operation Swift Retort retaliated to the so called Indian surgical strikes. Wing Commander Abhinandan lost his plane inside Pakistani territory but his life was spared by gracious Pakistanis. Indian Air Force, besides losing Abhinandan’s aircraft downed their own helicopter; an apt example of dislocation of military command and control. The Indians had not come out of the shock and awe yet when on 4th of Mar 2019, just after five days of Operation Swift Retort, Indian state of the art Scorpene class submarine was localised by Pakistan Navy’s anti-submarine aircraft 86 nautical miles south of Gwadar. It is well understood that defence of a submarine against an aircraft is simply impossible since the submarine is helpless against its aerial predator. It was however spared also in line of Government of Pakistan’s stated policy of peaceful coexistence with all its neighbours. It must have afforded Indians a sigh of relief and escape from grief of embarrassment caused by their very own incompetent armed forces.

Pakistan Navy’s qualitative proficiency has proven its worth number of times, not only in presence of other navies but specifically against its adversary. It is this passion that has propelled this smaller navy to stand tall against its neighbour with around six times larger force. With the growing momentum of US Indo-Pacific strategy aimed against China, the threat to Pakistani waters is however likely to exacerbate. Quadrilateral Security Dialogue which is an important alliance in the Indo-Pacific strategy context also includes Pakistan’s arch rival India. As the prime domain of Indo-Pacific strategy is sea, therefore Indian Navy’s capabilities are likely to be in sharp focus of the Indian government to prove itself worthy of the role epitomised for it by the USA in the overall strategy. Any value addition in Indian Navy is obviously a matter of concern for Pakistan Navy. Thus Pakistan Navy needs to be cognisant of the upcoming evolving scenarios in its waters and must continue with its dauntless obsession with the qualitative edge over its adversary.

The writer works at the Institute of Regional Studies, Islamabad.