• Gwadar as a Transit Port: A Vision Not Yet Matched by Reality

    Pakistan is proposing Gwadar Port as a transit hub for landlocked Tajikistan, nearly a decade after the port received its first container ships in 2016. In its best recorded year across that period, Gwadar handled 22 ships. Nine Years and a Ceiling of 22 Ships When CPEC was announced and Gwadar was positioned as its…

  • Ports and Permissive Space: Can Gwadar’s Growth Be Exploited by Traffickers?

    Gwadar port’s fast-growing infrastructure of new berths, enlarged container yards, vast free-trade zones, and private logistics centres poses an imperative challenge of governance to the Indian Ocean region’s maritime security architecture. However, beneath this veneer of legitimate development, a disquieting vulnerability exists: the emergence of handling capacity, customs exemptions, and private warehousing has created de…

  • Somalia’s Seas, China’s Shadow: How Pakistan Extends Beijing’s Reach in Africa

    Somalia’s latest naval partnership with Pakistan, formalised through a five-year defence cooperation agreement in August 2025, appears on the surface as another capacity-building initiative for the Horn of Africa’s fragile maritime security. However, beneath this veneer of assistance lies a more troubling reality: Pakistan’s role as Beijing’s maritime proxy, systematically extending Chinese influence into African…

  • How Pakistan’s Navy Converted Coastal Land into a Parallel Real-Estate Economy

    Along Pakistan’s coastline, a quiet yet sweeping transformation of public land into elite residential and commercial enclaves has unfolded under the stewardship of the country’s naval establishment. From Karachi’s expanding Defence Housing Authority (DHA) sectors to Gwadar’s militarised waterfront, the Navy, its welfare foundations, and allied developers sit at the centre of a sprawling ecosystem…

  • Importing Risk at Sea: Somalia’s Bet on Pakistan’s Navy is Self-Defeating

    On August 28, 2025, Somalia’s cabinet approved a five-year defence cooperation MoU with Pakistan, covering training from basic to staff-college level, naval technical assistance, maintenance and new unit stand-up, selective equipment upgrades, and a Joint Defence Cooperation Committee that meets annually to steer the workstreams. The government paired this with similar cooperation instruments with Jordan…

  • Opacity in Pakistan navy’s acquisition deals leads to corruption, puts further burden on the people

    It is no secret that Pakistan is run by its military, not the civilian government, unlike in India. Hence, it is not surprising that there is no transparency in the country’s defence deals. For example, the pricing for Pakistan’s purchases of frigates, corvettes, and submarines is not transparent and is often kept concealed. This secrecy…

  • Hangor-Class Hype vs. Hard Reality: Why Pakistan’s Submarine Gamble Won’t Reshape the Indian Ocean

    Pakistan’s naval establishment has been quick to celebrate the launches of its new Hangor-class submarines, framing them as “game-changers” that will upend the balance of power in the Arabian Sea. The narrative from Islamabad is clear: with eight air-independent propulsion (AIP) equipped boats on order from China, the Pakistan Navy will be able to extend…

  • The Cut-Rate Submarine: Why Hangor Isn’t the Yuan Beijing Keeps for Itself

    Pakistan’s much-hyped Hangor-class submarine programme has been repeatedly showcased as a technological leap in its naval modernisation drive. But beneath the fanfare lies a crucial detail: the Hangor is not the same as the People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) frontline Yuan-class submarine. Instead, it is a cut-down export derivative, the S26 design, that lacks several…

  • Split construction model of Hangor-class submarines will cause severe management headaches for Pakistan

    The Pakistan Navy recently formally launched its third Hangor-class submarine, the future PNS Mangro, during a ceremony at the Wuchang Shipbuilding Industry Group’s Shuangliu base in Wuhan, China. The high-profile event was attended by senior naval officials from both Pakistan and China, underscoring the strategic weight of this bilateral defence cooperation. When the Pakistan Navy…

  • Tethered at the pier: how Pakistan traded reach for reliance at sea

    On paper, Islamabad’s naval rebuild is glittering. Four Tughril-class frigates, eight Hangor-class submarines in the pipeline, plus assorted sensors and missiles with impressive acronyms. In practice, another story is taking shape. The Pakistan Navy looks modern at commissioning, then spends too long waiting for parts, permissions and visiting technicians. The fleet can sail. Too often,…