Navy chief visits units at sea, Creeks Area to review SEASPARK 2026

Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Naveed Ashraf visited units at sea and in the Creeks Area on Sunday to review Exercise SEASPARK 2026, the military’s media wing said.

According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), The biennial exercise, which has been underway since September 1, rehearses the full spectrum of maritime operations and tests the operational preparedness and ability to transition rapidly from peacetime to wartime operations. 

"Reflecting the changing character of warfare, this year’s exercise integrates Operations in the Information Environment, Multi-Domain Operations and extensive use of unmanned systems," the statement added.

Read: Pakistan summons Indian Cd'A to protest INS Kolkata warship’s ‘provocative’ manoeuvres in EEZ

During his visit, Admiral Ashraf interacted with personnel participating and commended their “professionalism, high morale, operational readiness and resolve to remain invincible at sea”, ISPR said.

Pakistan protests Indian navy vessel's EEZ incursion

Pakistan and India on Wednesday lodged tit-for-tat diplomatic protests against each other over a naval incident in the Arabian Sea after vessels from the two countries came into contact during a Pakistani maritime exercise.

The Foreign Office summoned the Indian Charge d'Affaires in Islamabad and lodged a "strong protest" over what it described as a provocative and unacceptable action by an Indian Navy vessel inside Pakistan's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) on September 15.

According to the Foreign Office, the Pakistan Navy has been conducting its biennial exercise, SEASPARK-26, in Pakistan's EEZ since September 1. It said that since September 7, the Indian naval ship INS Kolkata and a helicopter deployed on it had repeatedly attempted to enter the area where the Pakistani exercises were being conducted.

The Foreign Office said INS Kolkata carried out "dangerous and provocative manoeuvres" close to Pakistan Navy vessels despite multiple warnings.

It said the Indian vessel's activities were not a routine deployment but constituted a violation of the 1991 India-Pakistan Agreement on Advance Notice on Military Exercises, Manoeuvres and Troop Movements.