ISLAMABAD, 28 March 2006 — Pakistan will become the first non-NATO country to command the multinational Task Force 150 of the US-led Coalition Maritime Campaign Plan (CMPC) early next month.
The Pakistan Navy has already named Rear Adm. Shahid Iqbal as commander of the task force that was created in October 2001 to deter terrorists and arms — and human-smuggling in north Arabian Sea.
“It is a big responsibility and an honor for us to lead a multinational maritime counterterrorism force,” Lt. Commander Rizwan, a Pakistan Navy spokesman, told DPA yesterday.
Iqbal will lead the force for one year from the Naval Central Command headquartered in Bahrain.
The CMPC is the maritime component of “Operation Enduring Freedom,” the US-led coalition launched in Afghanistan in 2001 against Al-Qaeda. The CMPC operates in the Gulf of Oman, the Arabian Sea and Horn of Africa.
In recognition of Pakistan’s efforts in the anti-terror war, the United States declared it as a major non-NATO ally in 2004, thereby opening avenues of bilateral and multilateral military cooperation for the Muslim country.
Pakistan Navy’s “Babur” ship has been conducting operations with American destroyer USS Sullivans and French frigate FS Surcouf in the Gulf of Oman, and has taken part in interdiction operations intended to disrupt terrorists’ movement by sea.
Besides Pakistan and the US, the CMPC includes Britain, France, Australia, Italy, Japan, Germany, the Netherlands and Spain.
