Islamabad - President General Pervez Musharraf says the inclusion of P 3 C Orion aircraft, F 22-P Frigates and acquisition of F-16 fighter aircraft would certainly enhance the offensive punch of Pakistan`s defense.
These state-of-the-art platforms will augment Pakistan`s defense capabilities and play a pivotal role in any future scenario, the president said while addressing the debrief session of Pakistan Navy`s war-game Shamsheer-e-Bahr-II held at PNS Jauhar Karachi, according to an official statement.
Musharraf appreciated the close coordination of three services during the exercises and said the lessons emerging from the exercise are very practical and would go a long way in validating Pakistan Navy`s operational plans and doctrines.
The president emphasized that good cohesion and coordination between the three Armed Forces would prove to be a key to all solutions.
He said the economy and defense are the two pillars on which the very existence and prosperity of any nation rests. _It is heartening to note that we have cemented both the pillars,_ he added.
The president congratulated the three services for a very well conducted exercise and commended the efforts of all concerned. He said that lessons learnt and the recommendations made are very viable and will be given due consideration by the government.
Earlier, in his welcome address, Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Shahid Karimullah said this war game conducted bi-annually is an extension of joint services-level exercise Sabit Qadam-II.
The exercise enabled Pakistan Navy to dwell upon its concepts and war plans, he said adding that this year the exercise was conducted on a wider canvas with a greater participation from sister services.
The Officer Conducting the Exercise Rear Admiral Iftikhar Ahmad said that Shamsheer-e-Bahr-II is a series of conceptual tri-services war game to assess the maritime threat and to evolve maritime strategy consonant to the prevailing geo- political situation.
He gave a detailed account of the war game, analysis, lessons learnt and recommendations.
The exercise-planning phase started in September last year which was followed by the preliminary stage. War games were conducted in the first week of March, which were followed by extensive analysis and debrief sessions.
SPA 0900 GMT