The day the Soviet Army marched into Afghanistan in the winter of 1979, supposedly to prop up a regional ally, little did anyone realize that neither Afghanistan nor Pakistan would ever be the same again. The easy availability of arms and drugs transformed the region in ways that were previously hard to imagine. Pakistan was particularly hard hit since it’s soil, apart from hosting the…
India’s Quest for a Subsurface Strategic Deterrence Capability
On 27 January this year, an event occurred which went largely unnoticed within the country but caused ripples amongst the naval analysts community. This was the handover of a submarine from Russian to Indian hands. Nothing unusual there, one may be tempted to say, considering that the Indian Navy has been operating Russian and German submarines for nearly four decades now. Wrong; for the submarine…
The Navy Way
I am always asked Why I joined the Navy, I never fail to answer I love the churning sea. I love it’s frothy restlessness, I love to tame it’s storms, And plunge right through them Like bowel – tearing worms.
Pictorial View
International Working Conference on “Human Face of Piracy” held on 29 Feb, 01 & 02 March 2012 at Bahria University Karachi Auditorium.
Managing the problem of Marine Piracy
Seeing the collective might and wisdom of the so-called international community floundering before a rag-tag group of Somali pirates, one can be forgiven for being pessimistic as to the ultimate outcome of this apparently unequal contest. It is true that at the moment we are grappling with the gentler issue of managing the problem, rather than focussing on a permanent solution. Broadly speaking, the problem…
Course of War
The War Course (Session 1998-1999) that I participated in at the National Defence College was a rejuvenating experience which can best be described in verse: War Course Rhapsody NDCs a place where greying men Well past their pepped-up prime, Shrug off their coats of dust And end up in the grime. This day you joined the course That day you returned, Time between is measured…
The Global Shipbuilding Industry and Pakistan’s Prospects
Introduction The world ship-building industry has had it’s share of ups and downs. The predominant powers of the first half of the twentieth century have been replaced by new actors. The meteoric rise of the current pack leader, South Korea, to the No 1 spot has been awe-inspiring. Following Japan’s example, which had used the shipbuilding industry as a catalyst to rebuild it’s industrial structure…
Piracy – Aura, Reality and Response
It is indeed befitting that the International Maritime Organization has chosen ‘Piracy: Orchestrating the Response’ as it’s theme for this year’s World Maritime Day. For the past six or seven years, piracy stemming from Somalia is increasingly assuming menacing proportions. Before Somalian piracy appeared on the international radar, hotspots like the Malacca Strait, South China Sea and the west coast of Africa off Nigeria were much…
The Quaid Remembered
There before me swims What time hardly dims, A vision of a figure frail Clad in coat of mail, His weapon firm conviction
Remembering the Seafarers on World Maritime Day 2011
The World Maritime Day is an event of considerable significance in the calendar of the seafaring states but somehow passes by virtually unnoticed within Pakistan. The International Maritime Organization (IMO), which is a specialized agency of the United Nations, is the moving spirit behind it’s observance. The IMO is celebrating it at it’s London Headquarters on Thursday 29 Sept 2011, while it’s 169 member states…
