Capt. Vaqar Muhammad of PNS Tariq, Pakistan Consul General  Aftab Khokher and Commodore Majid Bin Hussain Al-Qahtani of the Royal Saudi Navy cut a cake along with other consuls general and guests. — SG photo by Syed Mussarat Khalil



Syed Mussarat Khalil

Saudi Gazette

JEDDAH — The current visit of the Pakistani Navy Ship Tariq to Saudi Arabia will further strengthen ties between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia’s navies, said its commanding officer on Tuesday night.



Capt. Vaqar Muhammad, speaking at a community dinner held in collaboration with the Pakistan Consulate on board the ship while it was docked at Jeddah Islamic Port, thanked Saudi authorities and the Royal Saudi Navy for the hospitality extended to Pakistan navy ships visiting Saudi Arabia from time to time.



PNS Tariq is visiting the Kingdom on a goodwill-cum-training mission.



Various consuls general, Commodore Majid Bin Hussain Al-Qahtani of the Royal Saudi Navy, journalists and members of the Pakistani community attended the dinner.



Muhammad said: “The exchange of high level visits and conduct of bilateral exercises are the hallmark of close relations between two navies.



“PNS Tariq is the first Type-21 ship acquired by the Pakistani navy from UK in the early 90s.



“After its induction in the navy, it has undergone major modifications with regards to her weapons and sensors. During modernization, state of the art equipment/weapon/sensor systems have been installed to meet the Pakistan Navy's requirements.



Pakistani Consul General Aftab Khokher said the visit was a “symbol of friendship between the Kingdom and Pakistan.”



He expressed his gratitude to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman and the Saudi government for hosting PNS Tariq. The dinner commenced with recitations of the national anthems of Saudi Arabia and Pakistan respectively.



A cake cutting ceremony was later held and a dinner was specially prepared by the chefs on board PNS Tariq.