ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will reach Karachi today (Wednesday) to participate in the launching ceremony of fourth MILGEM-class multipurpose corvette, named PNS Tariq for Pakistan Navy at the Karachi shipyard.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Vice President of the Republic of Turkiye Cevdet Yilmaz, who reached Pakistan on Tuesday, will jointly inaugurated the latest corvette ‘PNS Tariq’ for Pakistan Navy.
Pakistan had signed a $1.5 billion deal with Turkey in 2018 for the acquisition of four Ada class ships with Turkish state-owned defence firm ASFAT. Under the contract that included technology transfer, two ships were to be constructed at Istanbul Naval Shipyard and the other two at Karachi Shipyard.
The MILGEM project is based on joint collaboration and represents a significant milestone in the Pakistan-Turkey strategic partnership, according to Pakistan’s ministry of foreign affairs.
The first MILGEM-class (also known as Babur-class) warship for Pakistan Navy, named PNS Babur, was launched at the Istanbul shipyard in August 2021 and PNS Khaibar was launched in November 2022 in Istanbul. The third MILGEM-class multipurpose corvette, named PNS Badr, was launched in the port city of Karachi in May 2022 while the fourth PNS Tariq will be launched today (Wednesday) at Karachi Shipyard.
With the induction of the latest warships, Pakistan Navy will be equipped with multipurpose corvettes and frigates that can be deployed in a range of missions including surveillance, early warning, anti-submarine warfare, surface-to-surface and surface-to-air warfare, and amphibious operations. The latest warships will strengthen the country’s maritime defence and deterrence capabilities as Pakistan Navy intends to build a fleet of more than 50 vessels, including 20 major surface ships.
