China hands Type 054A/P frigate over to Pakistan

BEIJING: Pakistan on Friday received a modern four Type 054A/P frigate built by China for the Pakistan Navy (PN). The launching ceremony was attended by Overseas Naval Chief Commodore Rashid Mahmood Shaikh, deputed in China. The frigate and its sister ships are the most powerful surface vessels planned under Pakistan’s naval modernization program, meant to redress a conventional imbalance with India.

Earlier this year, Pakistan had commissioned the first of four Type 054A/P frigates named Tughril during a ceremony at the Hudong Zhonghua Shipbuilding yard in Shanghai, China. Addressing the launching ceremony, Naval Chief Commodore Rashid Mahmood Sheikh said the timely formation of the frigate shows the expertise of the Chinese Shipyard.

Earlier, Yarmook, a state-of-the-art 2300-tonne Corvette Pakistan Naval Ship (PNS), was inducted in the country’s naval fleet. The commissioning ceremony of the modern naval ship was held a Pakistan Navy Dockyard in Keemari Karachi. Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Zafar Mahmood Abbasi was the chief guest at the commissioning cerem-ony.