Pakistan

Commandos reached Navy base within 3 minutes of attack: Naval Chief

Admiral Nauman Bashir says commandos stopped the terrorists from making any major destruction.

Express May 23, 2011

KARACHI: Naval Chief Admiral Nauman Bashir said on Monday that the commandos reached the PNS Mehran Base within three minutes of the attack stopping the terrorists from making any major destruction.

Briefing the media in Karachi, the Naval Chief said the terrorists intruded from the Eastern side of the base and fired six missiles at the base.

He added that Lieutenant Syed Yaser Abbas, son of Retd. Col. Syed Jaffar Abbas, was the first Naval officer who confronted the terrorists and embraced martyrdom.

Admiral Bashir said that there were 11 Chinese and six American technicians present inside the base at the time of the attack, but security personnel rescued them safely.

A new naval base is under construction to shift sensitive installations away from the population, he revealed.

COMMENTS (47)

Rizwan | 12 years ago | Reply Most of us must have had an experience of working in an organization where you always feel at odds with your boss's instructions and company policies but always end up doing what the big boss tells you to. Same concept of subservience, but at a highly rigid level, also goes for any military institution around the world. In a corporate world, you may have meetings, conferences and open forums to give you an illusion that your opinion is valuable and is important in policy making. However, in military you cannot question the order. The lack of security and contingency plan and lengthy recovery battle all point to the fact that this is what we are getting, in terms of training and technology, with the percentage of the military budget trickling down to the people who are expected to be top-notch at the frontlines against foreign and domestic threats. I suggest my fellow Pakistanis to go easy on these commandoes, the lieutenants, lower ranking staff or pawns as they can be called and encourage those who lived and pray for those who lost their lives in this incident. During a war (against domestic or foreign enemies), it will be unwise to question (and insult) those who are fighting on the frontlines and not those who devise the overall strategy for them from the HQ. Whatever went wrong with the military that claimed to be the best in the world, with its commandoes winning top prize in an international competition, needs to be investigated, understood and fixed as soon as possible. But, there is another unfortunate dilemma with Pakistan that whenever we speak of accountability, investigation and inquiry, we have no idea who will be trustworthy and bold enough to spearhead such a humungous and ominous task transparently and effectively amidst mounting pressure to withdraw and a storm of allegations of being unpatriotic and an agent of foreign powers bent on defaming and insulting military institutions and, thus, Pakistan. In most cases an inquiry commission is made and the results are never released. Take a leaf out of the corporate world handbook and hire a consultant.

Rizwan | 12 years ago | Reply Reporter 1: Mr Naval Chief, Why did it take 16 hours for the elite commandoes to take back the base from the militants? Naval Chief: Give them a break Mr Reporter, They got there in 3 minutes. Have you ever even driven through the traffic in Karachi? 3 minutes is an amazing feat and when you travel that fast, you are bound to get disoriented. Reporter 2: Does Pakistan have capability of fighting against American/CIA agents? Naval Chief: Look Mr. Reporter, It took 16 hours for 100 commandoes to get rid of 6 terrorists. In America it takes 1 agent just 24 hours to kill all the terrorists, diffuse the bomb, save the president and in parallel cope with his nagging daughter's daddy issues. We can never compete with that.

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Uza Syed | 12 years ago | Reply No good these your commandos Chief Saab, they appear to be just a sbad as you. What good they did by getting there in 3 minutes ------ they could NOT take care of those 4. 5. or 6 terrorists as fast. It took your commander over 15 whole hours ! ------ it just scares the day light out of me to think what would these peofessional soldiers do if ever challenged by a gang of 40, 50, or 60 such dare devils (Khuda-na-khwasta! Khuda-na-khwasta! Khuda-na-khwasta!!!!!)

Yousaf | 12 years ago | Reply Headline Should be: Commandos reached Navy base within 3 minutes of attack and let the two terrorists run away: Naval Chief

Sameer | 12 years ago | Reply 3 min 2 air-craft destroyed 1 damaged.....8 commandos died 2 rangers died 3 innocent firemen died....2 terrorist escaped easily....2000 troops all around ....entire vacinity quardon off.....wonderful story....are they really commandos ...can any one tell

Tigon | 12 years ago | Reply Big deal Admiral! Why were they needed at all?

Syed Imran | 12 years ago | Reply Looking at the condition of the perimeter wall and its fencing,one gathers an impression that for ages no one has ever gone round this perimeter wall to check it for its security viability. It seems that only the lowest ranking personal had the responsibility to ensure security of the location and that the seniors never even bothered to look in to the matter even when Navy Personals were targetted more than once which was a precursor to a bigger attack.The Naval Chief should have ensured that all the arrangements were revisited and weak areas strengthened, however,it seems he was sitting in his Islamabad cushy office and never bothered. This man must be sacked as he has no excuse after a number of attacks on Naval targets. I would also say that the case of Osama is different as it was a Super Power coming in with all its resources and without any warning, but no justification for this attack can be entertained as there were enough warnings by agencies which were disregarded. SO THIS NAVAL CHIEF MUST BE SHOWN THE DOOR.

Asad Hasan | 12 years ago | Reply 3 minutes of eternity..... “ It took navy commandos 3 minutes to get to the base which was supposed to be well guarded all the time, and 18 hours to fight and kill a bunch of 4 ill-equipped terrorists – two escaped anyway (in spite of the complete cordoning off the whole base)……any way the 4-6 terrorists seemed like 30 people to the well trained navy commandos who were literally in the hundreds.”

Tee | 12 years ago | Reply Instead of accepting that what happened was a security lapse on his side. this man is praising the timings of commandos. !!! strange

Sameer | 12 years ago | Reply Is Ullu K Dash......Navel Commander must be shamed while telling in media that the way they entered they escaped easily, while there are thousand of troops are all around ...... What we gona do with this 3 min response time ....take these 3 min in your A.......... and they are giving shirata imtiaz to all those who lost lifes....they have to give those medals to those innocent firemen who lost there lifes during this incident .... those comedy commandos not deserve medals.... and Now we Pakistani are sure that these I must say DUMP Heads of All forces cant do anything apart giving such bull shi......press confrences....

Asad Hasan | 12 years ago | Reply Sir: we all saw the pomp and power and white BMW the naval chief used in arriving at the Mehran Base after every thing had been cleared away. It seems he stopped over from his way to the golf course at Karsaz - only minutes away from the base. Does he even realise the foolishness, ineptness and sorry state of face he is showing to the world. Afterall he is the face of the navy. If he resigns it will be nothing great, it will be the least he can do. But does he have the courage? to do so! Does our nation have this in themselves - afterall the CNS is a son of the soil, and whatever he does is a reflection of what we are as a nation, and as a people !!!!!

adnanbinraza@hotmail.com | 12 years ago | Reply shame on navy.6 men engaged whole navy for 16 hours.and at the end 2 ran away.and naval chief said its not a security lapse.shameeeeee.bangles should be gifted to navy chief

Asim+Ali | 12 years ago | Reply Clueless is the term i would use for both the political and military establishment. World War 3 has begun. OBL, TTP, Lashkar etc. are all part of the great game. We are clueless, mortified, confused, shocked. Just as the enemy wants us to be. Lets see what happens next......

Mirza | 12 years ago | Reply The commandos reached swiftly and they must have out numbered the army of 6 terrorists by 100 to 1 or more. Yet the armed forces kept the police out of the area and two of the terrorists escaped. What an efficient army of Islam? Was police kept out so that the "insider" can escape?

Anoyn | 12 years ago | Reply Good .. we got the base back in 17 hrs. .. When get the other half of Pakistan .. that is occupied by non-state actors? How many years?

RAJESH KUMAR | 12 years ago | Reply How did 2 attackers manage to escape after 17 hours of gun battle?. Any insiders assisting them?.

Musing Haq... | 12 years ago | Reply they were Supermen?

Ahmed | 12 years ago | Reply Sir, may i ask why cant you plz be honest in answering our questions? How many terrorist came in? How many escaped? There must surely be planes in the hangers? What & how many are destroyed? What's the total loss? What steps have you you taken to prevent next time? Was it an inside job? How did the terrorist get the map? Can you plz answer us?

Pakistanwala | 12 years ago | Reply If this was minor destruction, what would be Major destruction.

SaneVoice | 12 years ago | Reply 3 minutes...... What they thought Aliens would protect a sensitive location until security forces got there to do their jobs. Any Military Tactician would tell you even 30 seconds of uninterrupted attach is enough to inflict heavy damage, let alone 3 minutes

Uzair Javaid | 12 years ago | Reply @mahmood: OK, i got what you're saying. ohh the nukes are unsafe. Not to mention the incompetent indian nuclear sites's security. Many of the nuclear waste ends up being in your scrap markets

Uzair Javaid | 12 years ago | Reply @Bangash: to your incomplete knowledge - nothing comes free from the US. Even their so-called aid comes after the deduction of debt servicing and other charges. So you see a $100 coming your way which actually ends up being a $10 bill.

Mav | 12 years ago | Reply I think shock has made the Admiral quite sea-sick in the head. The poor man is also reported to have said that the attack was not a result of of security lapse, but a security breach. I wonder how he got selected in the navy in the first place. Pakistan military has lost thousands of good fighting-soldiers and officers due to incompetent people in command, and the reputation of our armed services is in a nose dive. It is time for a few top-brass heads to roll. Our fighting men deserve better commanders. We, the people of Pakistan, have always paid good money to our military. We deserve better service. We demand better service. The PNS Mehran fiasco could not have been possible without insider support. The Military must clean house. They will not be able to protect us from Terrorist or external threats as long as their ranks are infested with rats. They must eliminate these rats.

TightDhoti | 12 years ago | Reply Somebody strip him off his BMW and get some night vision goggles for the under equipped jawans who man these installations.

SH | 12 years ago | Reply No "major destruction". Two of our total of three P-3C Orions destroyed and no major destruction. This is the same naval chief that said that there was "no security lapse" despite the fact that terrorists infiltrated a sensitive base. For these reasons, coupled with his clear "Ostrich Complex," I believe the buck stops at the top. Heads must roll! P.S: Please note that in the picture above the commandos going in to battle do not have body armor. Even on last night's TV footage, some commandos going in had armor and some didn't. We shouldn't be putting our troops lives on the line like that. Perhaps less investment in US missiles and more on combat gear?

Blunt! | 12 years ago | Reply 3 minutes? And here I thought Naval Bases are already supposed to be guarded, high security places!

mahmood | 12 years ago | Reply One might ask how 10 terrorist managed to gain entry to the base -- as well as why it took 18 hrs to get eliminate then -- and if the reports are correct why/how 2 of them escaped? Reminds me of when the terrorist took control of your military headquarters. No doubt this will fuel speculation on whether you nukes are properly safeguarded. This isn't the the USA using sophisticated technology to enter Pakistan without detection -- this is a handful of guys using AK47's, hand grenades, and RPG's who can apparently kick ass on your home court -- almost as bad as when they took over your Military HQ a couple of yrs ago. Maybe your Parliament should have another meeting with your military and ask for an explanation?

Ali | 12 years ago | Reply Someone said a while ago that all Americans have been asked to leave. Seems like they were 'inside' the sensitive area. Awsome.

Mirza | 12 years ago | Reply Nobody can stop terrorists from entering our bases. They do not need to enter, they live there, that is why it took a long time for the US to find and kill OBL. There is no major destruction in the base. We are shameless and only have false pride that is why like Teflon nothing sticks to Pakistan army. No major destruction in East Pakistan, Kargil, OBL's fiasco, and the list goes on. Only a few hundred million $$ were lost but we still have our jobs and all benefits for ever. Nobody as usual would be fired from our brave armed forces or held responsible. And yest the bloody corrupt democratic civilians govt should resign for these failures.

Noor Nabi | 12 years ago | Reply The Naval Chief should be ashamed and embarrassed. Instead of resigning on account of yet another security failure he is giving us stories about the three minutes it took for the commandos to arrive. The damage has been done, and the reputational damage is enormous.The terrorists breached the security and caused big damage.

Sunny Deol Pakistani | 12 years ago | Reply Admiral Bashir said that there were 11 Chinese and six American technicians present inside the base at the time of the attack, but security personnel rescued them safely....What about other Pakistanis? Allah Sohnay De Hawalay!!! Totally Disgusted.

Sunny Deol Pakistani | 12 years ago | Reply One thing is clear, it is not done by Americans, otherwise commandos would not have any clue that Americans were carrying the raid.

ijazmir | 12 years ago | Reply We treated our armed forces as sacred cow. But it is a mith ? miss adventure of 1965. Than surrender of 92 thousands to Indian army. Than Ziaulhaq and his generals making millions for funneling arms and money to mujaheddin who fought Russians in Afghanistan. Than Kargil blunder. South Waziristan and Sawat half hearted operation. But one credit they are good business and money generating army. Sundays operation only 6 Taliban took over navy base and hold it for 16 hrs and two managed to escape. Every day it is breaking news. Our Politicians busy with foreign trips making money,bulit proof cars etc. Country has failed if this is not a civil war than what?

Haris S | 12 years ago | Reply A bunch of over paid, incompetent fools these generals are

Khalid Masood | 12 years ago | Reply It is very unfortunate. Pakistan had been made a laughing stock. Navy should openly accept their BLUNDER for not conceiving such kind of threat. There is not need to hide the FAILURE by giving such statements of "3 Minutes Response". We have to develop a culture of accepting mistakes, fixing responsibilities and rolling of heads.... if we need to survive as a respectably in the comity of nations.

Babloo | 12 years ago | Reply Don't worry, every thing is fine. We lost some expensive toys costing hundreds of millions of dollars. But when we don't repay loans, then did we really lose anything ? Please think smart. The commandoes did a great job and we will soon launch a new housing scheme.

Fahad Raza | 12 years ago | Reply @Cautious: Speak for your self not for Pakistan soldiers or Nation. You are apparently Happy they were killed. Terrorist sympathizer

Raha | 12 years ago | Reply sikander inddian ramlal it was same aafter mumbai so tht was inside job too r8?

Pakistan One | 12 years ago | Reply shame shame shame shame shame shame

A | 12 years ago | Reply there is also a news that two terrorist escaped

Khurram B | 12 years ago | Reply @Bangash: They were never Free!

FP | 12 years ago | Reply @sikandar: What Tax payers?

moeed | 12 years ago | Reply what's the point of fast response if you could'nt save the two aircrafts

sikandar | 12 years ago | Reply So with in three minutes the terrorist damaged the two PC Orion and made the Naval Base good for nothing. Great, what did the Commandos do till the next day. Are you all sure that the Terrorist where outsiders, for all that you might know they were the same Commandos, why no one has seen the terrorist entering this high security Naval Air Base. What is this contradicting report that there were only four terrorist and all have been killed, whilst some other say there were 15 and some say there were 30. Some say they scaled the wall, some say they came via the sewer or did they come at all, everything could have been an inside job. Do not hush up anything, after all it is the tax payers money that goes up in the smoke either way. Please some explaining.

Cautious | 12 years ago | Reply Pakistani soldiers doing their job isn't martyrdom - that's a term that has taken on connotations of the religious fanatics who attacked the base.

Bangash | 12 years ago | Reply 2 Orions destroyed does not equal "Major destruction" in this incompetent Naval cheif's view. Perhaps because those Orions were provided for free by the US.

Siraj Ahsan | 12 years ago | Reply No one is questioning speed of response... we question how did they enter?

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