When the Pakistan Navy arrived in Bangladesh for the first time in fifty years, PNS SAIF got the historic honour to be docked in Chittagong. It was the first warship from Islamabad to dock at Bangladesh since 1971 — pushing open a long-shut corridor for military-to-military interaction between the two countries. It is also being viewed as Dhaka’s naval diversification strategy, reducing dependency on India and balancing its existing defence ties with China, Turkey, and the United States.
Pakistan’s Navy chief Admiral Naveed Ashraf on Sunday met Bangladesh’s Army chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman and held talks with his counterpart Admiral M Nazmul Hassan during his visit to bolster bilateral defence ties, according to an official statement.
The four-day visit came a day after a Pakistani naval ship, PNS SAIF, anchored off Bangladesh’s main port in southeastern Chattogram for a four-day goodwill visit. Pakistan Navy said in a statement, "...the development is a coordinated engagement that underscored Islamabad’s commitment to strengthen longstanding ties and improve maritime collaboration with Bangladesh".
Here are five things to know about the Chinese-built PNS SAIF, which is often regarded as a beaming beacon of Sino-Pakistan friendship.
- PNS SAIF is an F-22P frigate which was commissioned in 2010. Also called FFG-253, the Zulfiqar-class frigate is Chinese-built multi-mission guided missile frigates, in service with the Pakistan Navy. PNS SAIF was the third ever F-22P frigate that Beijing handed over to Pakistan.
- Built by Hudong-Zhonghua Shipyard Co. in Shanghai, PNS SAIF was delivered ahead of schedule by China, Pakistani media reports dating back to 2010 said. During its commissioning, the then Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Noman Bashir had declared that Pakistan was prepared to counter forces challenging its sovereignty, regional peace and security, and that it would continue its relationship with China in all fields, particularly defence. "The present geopolitical situation demands further strengthening of our relations, and I assure you that Pakistan is deeply committed to achieving our shared objectives," multiple media reports had quoted him as saying.
- According to a report by Content Delivery Network (CDN) for the website Turkiye Defence News (TURDEF), the Zulfiqar-class frigates are equipped with a 76-millimetre AK-176 main gun and two H/PJ-12 30-millimetre close-in weapon systems. The guided-missile power of the frigates consists of one HQ-7 surface-to-air missile with eight launchers and two C-802 surface-to-surface guided missiles with four launchers. The ships also have two triple ET-52C torpedo tubes and two six-launcher RDC-32 antisubmarine warfare rockets. Based on the Chinese Jiangwei class frigates, the F-22Ps are armed with eight Chinese C-802 surface-to-surface missiles (SSMs) and an upgraded version of the LY-60N short-range theatre defence missile. They are also equipped to operate an ASW-capable Z-9EC helicopter (helipad infrastructure suitable for operating a 10-ton class helicopter).
- "Over the years, PNS SAIF has undergone electronic warfare enhancements and integration upgrades to support Pakistan’s indigenous naval missile ecosystem, including the Harbah cruise missile family, potentially giving the ship land-attack capability in future iterations," Defence Security Asia said in a report. According to information available on Wikipedia, PNS SAIF has a standard displacement of 2,500 tonnes, increasing to 3,144 tonnes when fully loaded. The ship measures 123.2 metres (404 feet 2 inches) in length, with a beam (width) of 13.8 metres (45 feet 3 inches) and a draught (depth below water) of 3.76 metres (12 feet 4 inches). Its CODAD (Combined Diesel and Diesel) propulsion system allows for a maximum speed of 29 knots (54 km/h) and gives it an operational range of 4,000 nautical miles (7,400 km).
- In 2018, it was dispatched to Port Muscat at Oman during the first Regional Maritime Security Patrol (RMSP) deployment in the Gulf of Aden & Southern Red Sea Region. RMSP ensures the presence of naval forces along critical choke points and sea areas in the Indian Ocean Region to fulfil international obligations for maritime security and safeguarding both national and international shipping. The same year, PNS Saif made a port call at Alexandria, Egypt for a goodwill and training visit.