Pakistan Navy commissions 1st MILGEM Ship PNS Babur

ISLAMABAD: Commissioning ceremony of the 1st Pakistan Navy MILGEM Ship PNS BABUR was held at Istanbul Naval Shipyard, Turkiye.

Minister of National Defence Turkiye Ya ar Güler and Defence Minister of Pakistan Lt-Gen (retd) Anwar Ali Hyder were the chief guests at the ceremony. Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Muhammad Amjad Khan Niazi also attended the ceremony.

Speaking at the ceremony, Turkish defence minister termed the brotherly Pakistan-Turkiye relations exemplary and acknowledged the potential for further collaboration in the field of defence production. He lauded the efforts and remarkable work done by Istanbul Naval Shipyard and M/s ASFAT, a Turkish firm. He also thanked the Pakistan government and Pakistan Navy for extending exceptional support during the recent devastating earthquakes in Turkiye.

Pakistan’s defence minister admired the collaboration of Ministry of Defence Production Pakistan, Ministry of National Defence of Turkiye, M/s ASFAT and Pakistan Navy for synergised efforts to make the project a success and congratulated all teams on successful commissioning of 1st MILGEM Ship.

He said that relationship between Pakistan and Turkiye was unique because of deep-rooted historical ties between the two brotherly countries, hence cooperation should continue in future as well.

Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Muhammad Amjad Khan Niazi underlined that PN MILGEM Ship, fitted with state-of-the-art weapons and sensors, would play a key role in maintaining peace and stability in the region. He expressed his gratitude for enhanced collaboration in defence production especially in maritime domain between the two countries. The Admiral stated that in line with the government policies, Pakistan Navy had adopted indigenisation of platforms and hence it was very satisfying to see modern warships being built in collaboration with brotherly country Turkiye.

The PN MILGEM class ships are the most technologically advanced and state-of-the-art surface platforms being constructed for Pakistan Navy. The ships will be fitted with the latest command & control systems including modern weapons and sensors. The contract for construction of four MILGEM class ships for Pakistan was signed between Ministry of Defence Production, Pakistan and M/s ASFAT in 2018.

Under the project, two ships are under construction at Istanbul Naval Shipyard, while the other two are being constructed at Karachi Shipyard & Engineering Works. The ceremony was attended by high-level civil and military dignitaries from Turkiye and Pakistan and officials of Istanbul Naval Shipyard.