ISLAMABAD – Pakistan’s navy has responded agressively over the US act ofrefusing to pay for the fuel cost of the operations of the counter piracyCombined Task Force in Indian Ocean.
As per the media report, Pakistan Navy has devised to quit thecounterpiracy Combined Task Force (CTF) that operates in the western IndianOcean, Al Jazeera reported.
According to reports, the decision to leave the task force was taken afterthe US-led operation refused to pay for fuel for the patrolling warships aspart of a previous agreement.
Military officials believe that CTF nations will feel Pakistan’s absencebecause of its counter-piracy expertise and the Pakistani vessels’ accessto waters that are not friendly to Western flag-bearing ships.
Pakistan has taken command of the task force several times since 2013 andparticipated in operations with two warships that patrolled the ArabianGulf, Indian Ocean, Gulf of Aden, Red Sea and the Suez Canal.
In a statement to Al Jazeera, the Bahrain-based Combined Maritime Forces(CMF) – the over-arching organisation of which the CTF is a part –confirmed that Pakistan is no longer participating with ships in the taskforce.
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“Currently, Pakistan provides experienced naval personnel, veryknowledgeable in areas such as operating in the Indian Ocean,” CMFspokesperson Wendy Wheatley said.
“The current constituents of CTF 151 does not include Pakistan, however, anew team of nations take over every 4-6 months,” she added.
“Participation remains purely voluntary and no nation is asked to carry outany duty that it is unwilling to conduct.”
