 PNSZulfiquar (FFG-251), aF-22PZulfiquar-class frigateanchored in thePort Klang inMalaysia in2009. | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 Pakistan | |
| Name | PNSZulfiquar |
| Namesake | Zulfiqar(lit. Sword) |
| Builder | Hudong-Zhonghua Shipyard Co. in China |
| Laid down | 12 October 2006 |
| Launched | 7 April 2008[1] |
| Acquired | 30 July 2009 |
| Commissioned | 19 September 2009[2] |
| In service | 2009–present |
| Homeport | Karachi Naval Base |
| Status | In active service |
| Badge |  |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | F-22PZulfiquar-classfrigate |
| Displacement | |
| Length | 123.2 m (404 ft 2 in) |
| Beam | 13.8 m (45 ft 3 in) |
| Draught | 3.76 m (12 ft 4 in) |
| Propulsion | |
| Speed | 29 kn (54 km/h) maximum |
| Range | 4,000 nmi (7,400 km) |
| Complement | 215, 15 officers and 200 enlists. |
| Sensors & processing systems |
|
| Electronic warfare & decoys |
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| Armament | |
| Aircraft carried | 1 ×Harbin Z-9ECASW helicopter |
| Aviation facilities | Flight deck and enclosedhangar |
PNSZulfiquar (FFG-251) is thelead ship of theF-22PZulfiquar-classguided missile frigates since 2009.[5] She wasdesigned and constructed byChinese firm,Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding inShanghai, for thePakistan Navy. The vessel's design is primarily influenced from theType 053H3 frigate.[6]
After the bilateral contract was signed betweenPakistan and China on 4 April 2006,: 391 [7] she wasdesigned and constructed by theHudong–Zhonghua Shipbuilding Co. inChina and hersteel cutting was held on 10 October 2006 inShanghai.[8]
She was officiallylaid down on 24 July 2007 and waslaunched on 7 April 2008 to complete severalsea trials in China.[8] She is thelead ship of her class and was acquired by the Pakistan Navy on 30 July 2009.[1] On 12 September 2009, she arrived and reported to her base,Naval Base Karachi andcommissioned in the Navy.[9][10]
The induction ceremony was held on 19 September 2009 with formerChairman joint chiefs GeneralTariq Majid visiting the ship and presented her with military colors.[2] The warship was later visited by GeneralAshfaq Pervez, thearmy chief and AdmiralNoman Bashir who went to visit senior American officer, possibly Adm.Mike Mullen, abroad on the American aircraft carrier.[11]
Following her commissioning,Zulfiquar has been deployed to witnessed actions in thewar on terror inAfghanistan and thepiracy off the coast of Somalia, when she was deployed to leadmilitary operation to provide rescue and sealift of the personnel of MVSuez in 2011.[12]
On 6 September 2014, a serious incident took place involvingZulfiquar whenal-Qaeda'sIndian subcontinent branch attempted to take control of the vessel after penetrating the Naval Base Karachi. TheNavy Special Service Group'sNavy SEAL Teams and1st Marines responded by engaging the attackers and succeeded in capturing four assailants alive who were locked away in the ship's compartment.[13] The motive appeared to be that the attackers, still on active duty with the Navy, wanted to engage theU.S. Navy's fleet in theIndian Ocean with itscruise andanti-ship missile system.[14]
Several Western sources reported that 11 people were killed following a gunfight and asuicide attack: 10 attackers—four on theZulfiquar, including the organizers of the attack (Lieutenant Zeeshan Rafiq and Owais Jakhrani, a former lieutenant), and six more dressed as marines who attempted to infiltrate the ship via a nearbydinghy—and onepetty officer.[15][16][17]
On 13 September 2014, the Navy confirmed that it had detained 17 naval personnel including three key naval officers who were trying to flee to Afghanistan throughMastung inBalochistan in Pakistan.[13] On 25 March 2016, theNavy JAG Corps announced that five naval officers had beensentenced to death for their involvement in the attack.[16][18]
Unnamed officials toldSteve Coll thatIndia'sResearch and Analysis Wing (R&AW) has evidence indicating that, unbeknownst to the attackers, theZulfiquar was carrying a nuclear warhead during the incident. However, this intelligence reporting is uncorroborated and notably inconsistent with public information regarding Pakistan's nuclear weapons program, its delivery systems, and its methods of handling nuclear materials.[17][19]
'The suspects are Navy officials,' he added, giving no details about their ranks.
The Sept. 6 raid, which was foiled after a fire fight and a suicide bombing, was carried out in part by Pakistan Navy personnel who had been recruited by al Qaeda, these officials said. The raid, in which 10 militants and one petty officer died, raised fears about terrorist infiltration of the nuclear-armed nation's military forces.
But an alert sailor on board the frigate noticed something was wrong. The men in the dinghy were armed with AK-47s—not the standard weapons used by Pakistani marines. When he challenged the group in the dinghy, a gunfight quickly erupted. While the attackers fired automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenades, the sailor shredded the dingy with an anti-aircraft gun, killing all six. Hearing the commotion, navy commandos from another vessel rushed to the scene, but it still took several hours to regain control of the ship from the four rogue officers already on board. Eventually all of them were killed, the last one blowing himself up after he was cornered.
Media related toPNS Zulfiquar (ship, 2008) at Wikimedia Commons| Leadership |
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