MANAMA, 25 April 2006 — Pakistan became the first Muslim and non-NATO country to lead a maritime coalition anti-terror task force as it took over the command of Coalition Task Force 150 (CTF-150) yesterday.
Top US military commanders eulogized Pakistan for its efforts in the global war on terror saying Islamabad’s role was crucial.
US Naval Forces Central Command and US 5th Fleet Commander Vice Adm. Patrick M. Walsh said Pakistan played a strategic role in CTF 150.
Vice Adm. Walsh downplayed the possibility of using a military option against Iran.
Brig. Gen. Charles H. Davidson IV, chief of the Office of the Defense Representative to Pakistan, also praised Pakistan for its role in anti-terror war and efforts to root out Al-Qaeda. Davidson said Pakistani authorities were fully engaged in the country’s tribal areas and the North West Frontier Province to establish the writ of law and wipe out terrorists.
Royal Netherlands Navy Commodore Hank Ort, who led the task force for the past four and a half months, said that security cooperation had been one of the key areas of their focus and the cooperation of the regional nations was significantly important.
The command of CTF-150 was handed over from Commodore Ort to Pakistan Navy’s Rear Adm. Shahid Iqbal at a ceremony held in a Manama port on board the Netherlands destroyer HNLMS De Zeven Provincien, which served as the command ship for the task force.
Rear Adm. Iqbal described his country’s command of the task force as “a historic day” that showed the important role his country and navy played in the region.
Pakistan’s Vice Chief of Naval Staff Vice Adm. Mohammad Haroon said that since April 2004 Pakistan has continued to deploy a frigate and helicopter to support the operations of the task force.
“We feel that the fight against terrorism in any of its forms is a noble act and we consider it our moral obligation to continue this war,” Vice Adm. Haroon said.
CTF-150 is one of several naval units operating within a US-led coalition that are policing one of the globe’s tensest regions.
The mission oversees the Straits of Hormuz, a narrow waterway between Iran and Oman through which almost a quarter of the world’s oil is transported from the Gulf.
While two other units handle the Gulf itself, CTF-150’s 15 vessels also patrol all the waters west as far as the Red Sea and as far south as the Seychelles in the Indian Ocean.
“It’s like searching a needle in a haystack — we watch out for what ships are in the areas based on intelligence received from shore,” Commodore Hank Ort said as he passed the command to Rear Adm. Iqbal.
