There is a requirement to take prophylactic measures to prevent a terrorist attack. It is certain that Indian Navy is taking all measures to prevent Mehran like incident.

After the killing of Osama bin Laden there have been many terrorist attacks in Pakistan during May. The terrorist attacks started with two suicide bombers attacking Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province followed by attack on North Atlantic Treaty organisation trucks in Landikotal Khyber Agency federally Administered Tribal Agency (FATA), third attack on a Pakistan Naval Base Mehran in Karachi, a suicide car bomb attack in the Northwest city of hangu, targeting a progovernment tribe and killing eight people in the town of khar which borders Afghanistan and attack on the security officer of the President of Pakistan by unidentified terrorist. So far about 113 security personnel, 59 civilians and six terrorists have been killed. Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan had earlier declared their intentions of seeking revenge for the killing of Osama bin Laden and had claimed responsibility for the attacks. however, the most alarming was the attack on Pakistan’s Naval Base Mehran located in Karachi.

Mehran Naval Base Karachi

Pakistan Naval Station Mehran (PNS Mehran) is located in karachi, about 10 km from Quaid-e-Azam International Airport. It is also the headquarters of Pakistan Navy’s Air Arm and was also Pakistan’s first naval station which was commissioned during September 1975. Currently, it is holding about 27 multi-role aircraft including P-3C orion maritime aircraft, fokkers and Atlantique. It also houses the Naval Aviation Training School.

On the night of May 22, PNS Mehran was attacked by 4-20 (figure varies) terrorists. Zarrar Battalion of the Special Service group responded to the attack, killing four terrorists at the cost of 10 of the security personnel in an operation which lasted 15 hours. The overall siege lasted for about 18 hours. The remaining attackers are believed to have been captured or escaped and an unexploded suicide jacket and some live grenades were recovered from the area. The attack on Mehran occurred 19 months after general headquarters in Pindi was raided and preceded by three attacks on Pakistan Navy personnel. Yet terrorists were able to access such an important base so easily and hold it to ransom for 18 hours, does not speak well of Pakistan Navy’s security preparedness. eyewitnesses have claimed that the attackers were dressed in naval uniforms and were aware of the security protocol at the base and behaved like soldiers. There are contradictory reports regarding the attack. Some eyewitnesses claimed that the attackers were dressed in naval uniforms and were aware of the security procedures and acted like sailors of the Pakistan Navy. However, Pakistan’s Interior Minister Rehman Malik stated that the terrorists had cut the perimeter’s barbed wire at a place which came under the shadow of the surveillance camera. The infiltration occurred through an empty patch of land running alongside the rear of the base. A frequent attack on the Pakistan Navy indicates that it is the weak spot of the armed forces which was exploited by the terrorists.

Pakistan’s Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Noman Bashir stated in a press conference that four to six Taliban terrorists entered Karachi’s Mehran Naval Station, destroying two US-supplied maritime surveillance aircraft and killing 10 military personnel during their 18-hour siege of the naval air base. Bashir said that effective security of naval installations was becoming difficult due to the crowded residential areas around the base. Talking about the Pakistani operation launched in response to the terrorist attack, he said that the response time from naval commandos was three minutes and that they fought back, but the attackers were highly trained and had sophisticated weapons like rocket propelled grenade launchers. The Navy Chief said that two attackers blew themselves up, while several others were arrested and were now in Pakistan’s custody. he clarified that five US-built P-3C orion aircraft were at the base and three of them are modified, adding that four more P-3C aircraft are currently being modified in the US. The use of sophisticated weapons is disputed by the media as AK-47, hand grenades and shoulder fired rocket launchers are routinely used by the Taliban tribals in Waziristan. The government and the opposition are also propagating that the attack is a conspiracy by foreign enemies as two ‘India specific’ P-3C orion aircraft were destroyed. Such a theory has no rationale and has not been accepted by the Western governments or the local media.

The preliminary report of the terrorists attack was presented to President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani in which it was stated that insiders might be involved in the terrorist attack and must have helped them to reach the area where the Navy’s planes and helicopters were parked. Soon after receiving the information of the attack, Interior Minister Rehman Malik sent rangers, police equipped with tear gas and two armoured personnel carrier (APC) to the naval base. It was decided that Navy Commandos would lead the ‘operation clean up’ while the rangers and police commandos would assist them. The terrorists had attacked the APC and burst its tires, thus three more APC were called in. At that time, 17 foreigners were present who were evacuated on priority. There were many adverse comments from the Pakistani media, retired officers and ordinary citizens. The fact is that the naval bases in Karachi are located in densely populated urban areas and the level of security seems to be less. The feeling is that the Pakistan Army and Air Force have improved their security but the navy has yet to polish up their act. Then there is the possibility of terrorists penetrating the navy which is considered an old story and people do not want to talk about it. The Pakistan Navy plays a quiet role in fighting terrorism.