Pakistan Takes Command Of Naval 'War On Terror'

Agence France Presse

Apr 24, 2006

Pakistan will become the first Islamic nation and the first non-NATO country to command the naval wing of the US-led "war on terror", officials said.

The Pakistani navy will take control of the multinational Coalition Task Force 150 from the Netherlands at a ceremony in Bahrain, navy spokesman Commander Salman Ali told AFP on Monday.

"It's a great honour for Pakistan and its navy to command the coalition of several countries in the war on terror," Ali said.

The force is designed to prevent attacks on shipping or oil facilities and at disrupting "terrorist" shipments of arms and other materials through the Gulf, a statement by the US embassy in Islamabad said.

"In taking command of CTF-150, Pakistan is again showing its strong commitment to regional security," US Ambassador Ryan Crocker said in the statement.

Pakistan joined the force in April 2004. Germany, France, Canada, Britain, the Netherlands and the United States are also involved, along with New Zealand which is the only other non-NATO member.

The task force was set up near the beginning of Operation Enduring Freedom, the US-led offensive which toppled Afghanistan's Taliban regime after the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States.

The force patrols the Gulf of Oman, Gulf of Aden the Red Sea and the North Arabian Sea.

Pakistan severed its support for the Taliban and joined forces with Washington shortly after the September 11 attacks, which were blamed on Osama bin Laden's Al-Qaeda network.

Pakistani security forces have killed and captured hundreds of Al-Qaeda fugitives, including Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, accused by the 9/11 commission of being a key planner behind the attacks.

Copyright © 2006 Agence France Presse.