By USMAN ANSARI
ISLAMABAD — Despite a pledge from Pakistan’s minister of defense production that the Navy’s modernization projects will move forward, analysts are skeptical that the cash-strapped government will actually fund the programs.
The Associated Press of Pakistan stated Tanveer Hussain “ensured all necessary resources will be provided for timely completion of the projects to enhance the professional capabilities of Pakistan Navy,” during a visit Tuesday to Naval Headquarters in Islamabad, during which he met with naval chief Adm. Mohammad Asif Sandila.
Hussain is also said to have “acknowledged the future indigenous developmental plans of [the] Pakistan Navy to strengthen the defense of motherland.”
According to a 2011 Ministry of Defence Production report, those major programs are: construction of the next-generation submarine, corvettes, a follow-on order for Azmat-class fast-attack craft, fleet oil tanker and one hovercraft.
Read the full story at DefenseNews