KARACHI, Nov 26: Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Noman Bashir expressed concern on Wednesday over rising trend in high-sea piracy and human and drug trafficking and stressed the need for maintaining vigilance to protect maritime lines of communications.

Talking to newsmen at the Expo Centre during a visit to the Ideas 2008 exhibition, he said the Pakistan Navy was alive to the mounting incidence of piracy in the Horn of Africa and fully geared up to counter the menace.

He referred to an incident in which a Pakistani naval ship foiled an attempt by pirates to hijack a vessel. The ship, operating 100 miles away, rushed to the area after receiving the information and got the hostage ship freed.

About the P3C Orion aircraft, he said that the manufacturing company’s delegates had assured the navy that the aircraft would be delivered on time.

POF exports

Pakistan Ordnance Factories Chairman Lt Gen Sabahat Hussain said the POF was exporting high-tech defence products to 40 countries.

The POF, he added, was focussing on enhancing joint venture collaborations with friendly countries, including China and Turkey, in a big way. It also has international collaboration for production of high-tech products with France, Turkey, South Korea and Bosnia.