By NNN-APP,
Karachi : Pakistan Navy is playing an important role in the global anti-piracy campaign in Somalia. This was stated by the Chief of the Naval Staff, Admiral Noman Bashir. He was talking to reporters after the inaugural session of an international conference on ‘Piracy on the high seas’. The day-long moot was organized by the Master Mariners Society of Pakistan at a local hotel on Monday.
Admiral Noman Bashir said that 90 percent of the world trade is through sea while in the case of Pakistan this percentage comes to 97.
He pointed out that global efforts have been undertaken to tackle the problem of piracy in Somalia.
The Naval Chief said that it is our moral obligation to ensure security and safety in its territorial waters and adjoining sea areas so that not only the Pakistani trade but also the international trade remains safe.
He further pointed out that the Pakistan Navy is also an important part of the anti-piracy operation in Somalia.
This, Admiral Noman Bashir added has been very much appreciated by the other countries.
He also asked the sea faring community to raise and highlight the significance of the sea as the trade carried out through it is the backbone of the economy of any country.
The Naval Chief said that making the sea safe and secure is the collective duty of all.
Earlier, in his welcome address the president of the Master Mariners Society of Pakistan (MMSP), Captain Haleem Ahmed Siddiqui, pointed out that piracy has intensified in recent years and has affected almost all mariners and coastal states.
He said that in the first six months of 2009 there have been 140 pirate attacks, 33 hijackings and 106 failed attacks.
Haleem Siddiqui called for the efforts for the eradication of piracy at the earliest.
He said that although Pakistani Mariners and merchant navy ships have remained largely unaffected so far but many of our seamen serving on foreign-flag vessels are vulnerable to pirate attacks.
Captain Raffat Zaheer, chairman of the conference organizing committee, also spoke at the inaugural session.