President General Pervez Musharraf said on Monday, the inclusion of P 3 C Orion aircraft, F 22-P Frigates and acquisition of F-16 fighter aircraft, would certainly enhance the offensive punch of our defence. These state-of-the-art platforms will augment our defence capabilities and play a pivotal role in any future scenario. The President stated this while addressing the debrief session of Pakistan Navy's war game Shamsheer-e-Bahr-II held at PNS Jauhar on Monday morning.
The President appreciated the close co-ordination of three services during the exercises and said the lessons emerging from the exercise were very practical and would go a long way in validating the Pakistan Navy's operational plans and doctrines.
He emphasised good cohesion and coordination between the three Armed Forces would prove to be a key to all solutions. He further said the economy and defence were the two pillars on which the very existence and prosperity of any nation rests. It was heartening to note that we had cemented both the pillars, he added.
The President congratulated the three services for a very well conducted exercise and commended the efforts of all concerned. He said the lessons learnt and the recommendations made were very viable and would be given due consideration by the government.
Earlier, in his welcome address Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Shahid Karimullah said this war game conducted bi- annually was an extension of joint services- level exercise Saabit Qadam-II. The exercise enabled Pakistan Navy to dwell upon its concepts and war plans. He apprised the audience that this year the exercise was conducted on a wider canvas with a greater participation from sister services.
The Officer Conducting the Exercise Rear Admiral Iftikhar Ahmad apprised the audience that Shamsheer- e- Bahr-II was a series of conceptual tri- services war game to assess the maritime threat and to evolve maritime strategy consonant to the prevailing geo- political situation. He gave a detailed account of the war game, analysis, lessons learnt and recommendations.
Later, presentations were made by the Commanders of Army and Air Force deliberating on their respective concepts of operations.
The exercise-planning phase started in September last year which was followed by the preliminary stage. War games were conducted in the first week of March, which were followed by extensive analysis and debrief sessions. The debrief session was attended by Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, Chief of Air Staff, Foreign Minister, Vice Chief of Army Staff, Minister of State for Defence and a number of high ranking officers from three services and participating officers.
Later, talking to PTV, the President said the acquisition of F-16 aircraft was a long-standing demand of Pakistan, which would now be met. About the number of F-16 aircraft to be purchased by the country, he said there was no limit put by the United States on it and said Pakistan would determine it in accordance with its requirements. President said the F-16s, Pakistan would be getting, will be the latest C and D versions of the aircraft.