KARACHI, 30 April 2005 — The Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), Adm. Shahid Karimullah, said joint naval exercises with India will be conducted after the resolution of the Kashmir issue.
He was speaking at the Bahria University’s convocation. The naval chief said talks were on with India for cooperation in naval defense. He however, added it was premature to say anything definite on the issue at this stage.
He said substantial budgetary allocation had been made for the navy for the next 15 years. This increase in the navy’s budget would help strengthen the navy.
He said the United States would provide eight P-3C Orion aircraft in three to four years.
He said the navy, under a contract with China, would buy four F-22 frigates. The navy, he said, would soon be equipped with the state-of-the-art US-made Vulcan Phalanx anti-missile system for guarding its ships against supersonic missiles.
