Pakistan Navy gets Chinese-built warship

ISLAMABAD: An F-22P frigate built for the Pakistan Navy with Chinese assistance was commissioned during a ceremony held at a naval shipyard in the southern port city of Karachi today.

Pakistan Navy chief Admiral Mohammad Asif Sandila was the chief guest at the commissioning of PNS Aslat, which was built at the Karachi Shipyard and Engineering Works.

The event was also attended by senior officials from China and Pakistan, including the Chinese Ambassador and the vice president of the China State Shipbuilding Corporation.

The commissioning of PNS Aslat marked the culmination of a contract signed by Pakistan and China in 2005 for four F-22P warships.

Three of the frigates were built in China and technology was transferred for constructing the fourth warship in Karachi.

PNS Aslat is fitted with advanced weapons and sensors that make it a "highly potent platform" capable of operating in a multi-threat environment.

Its inclusion in the Pakistan Navy's destroyer squadron will strengthen the country's capabilities to defend its maritime frontiers, the navy said in a statement.

The construction of the fourth frigate in Pakistan had enhanced the Karachi Shipyard's capabilities in the construction of warships, the statement said.

The construction of warships, fast attack craft, small tankers, utility ships and tugs in Karachi Shipyard reflects the government's indigenisation policy aimed at attaining self-reliance in defence capabilities, it added.