Saudi Gazette

JEDDAH — Pakistan Navy ship PNS ASLAT, which was on a goodwill-cum-training visit to Saudi Arabia, hosted a dinner aboard when it docked at Jeddah Islamic Port recently.

The dinner was attended by a number of foreign diplomats based in Jeddah, high ranking Saudi Navy officials and officials from the Consulate General of Pakistan.

Captain Ghulam Akbar Shah Bukhari, commanding officer of the ship, while welcoming the guests highlighted the strategic importance of relations between Saudi and Pakistani naval forces.

He said the two countries enjoyed cordial ties and their navies held a number of joint drills including the "Naseem-ul-Bahr" joint naval exercise.

Some 25 crewmembers are undergoing training at Royal Saudi Naval Force (RSNF) academy, he said.

Bukhari PNS ASLAT conducted a successful anti-narcotic operation and seized 5,000 kg hashish on Feb. 7 in a maritime search operation.

Bukhari also shed light on PNS ASLAT that derives its name from an Arabic word denoting a type of sword used by the Arabs during the early days of Islam.

PNS ASLAT, commissioned in Pakistan Navy on April 17, 2013, is equipped with the state-of-the-art combat management system, torpedoes and missiles. PNS ASLAT is the fourth ship of Sword Class Frigates that was indigenously built in Karachi Shipyard and Engineering Works.

Consulate sources said the ship was on maritime deployment for counterterrorism and anti-piracy patrol in the Arabian Sea, Red Sea and Gulf of Aden and was on a goodwill visit to Jeddah port for four days.

Earlier Captain Bukhari paid courtesy visits to Rear Admiral Abdullah Bin Mutlaq, Saudi Western Region fleet commander, and a number of high ranking Saudi naval officials in Jeddah.