Pakistan Navy assumes command of anti-piracy task force

An armed pirate surveys the Somali coastline. PHOTO: AFP

Pakistan Navy on Monday assumed command of the anti-piracy International Task Force 151 in the Arabian Sea.

The navy will be taking command over Task Force 151 which seeks to maintain law in the seas and seeks to stop piracy.

Task Force 151 will be headed by Commodore Aleem. Other countries’ forces will also be included in this force. It will have jurisdiction over the Gulf of Aden, Horn of Africa and Somalia’s territorial waters.

The ceremony to mark the occasion will be held today at Faujira. Pakistan has earlier been a member of permanent Task Force 150.

Piracy is a growing problem, especially off the coast of Somalia, with both the number of attacks and the ransoms demanded spiking over the past two years.