ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Naval Chief Admiral Naveed Ashraf said this week that the country is building its first indigenously designed frigate-sized warship called “Jinnah Class Frigates” to address the challenges presented by the prevalent multi-threat maritime environment. 
A frigate-sized warship is a multi-mission naval vessel, typically 100-150 meters in length, with a displacement of 2,000-4,000 tons. Frigates are designed for surface warfare, anti-submarine warfare, and have air defense capabilities. They are equipped with a mix of guns, missiles, torpedoes, and anti-submarine rockets. 
Pakistan has been attempting to bolster its naval capabilities through the induction of advanced warships. Recently, it inducted PNS Babur and PNS Hunain, two state-of-the-art vessels, into its fleet. These warships are part of a broader effort to enhance the country’s maritime security and operational readiness. 
In an interview with Naval News website on Monday, which covers naval defense and technology, Pakistan Navy chief Admiral Ashraf highlighted that the Pakistan was focusing on inducting modern platforms, force multipliers, and indigenization apart from ensuring a variety of options to reduce reliance on external sources.
“Based on experience gained during the construction of MILGEM Class Ships, the Pakistan Navy is planning to build JINNAH Class Frigates which will be our first ever indigenously designed and built frigate-sized warship,” he said. 
The report said Pakistan inducted Type 054 A/P Frigates from China, OPVs Batch-1 and Batch-II from Romania, and MILGEM Class Corvette from Turkiye, adding that these will add to the navy’s existing defense capabilities.
PNS Babur, constructed in Turkiye and PNS Hunain, an offshore patrol vessel from Romania, are equipped with cutting-edge technology to address both surface and air threats. 
“Pakistan Navy is in the process of inducting the remaining MILGEM class ships as two of these ships are being constructed indigenously in Pakistan (KS&EW),” the naval chief was quoted as saying. 
“Our development strategy is based on ‘progressive capability enhancement’ to create a balanced, potent, and combat-ready force to deal with the evolving threats through the acquisition of force multipliers, and indigenous and innovative technical solutions.”

ISLAMABAD: Belarus President Aleksander Lukashenko on Tuesday offered to share technology with Pakistan and buy the country’s textile products, with the two states reaffirming their resolve to turn bilateral agreements into “practical steps.”
Lukashenko arrived in Islamabad on Monday evening, a day after a 68-member delegation of his country reached Pakistan to hold discussions on bilateral trade and investment. The Belarusian president is in Islamabad as Pakistan pushes for foreign investment from allies old and new in a bid to shore up its $350 billion economy while navigating a tough reforms agenda mandated by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Lukashenko arrived at the Prime Minister House on Tuesday morning where he was received by PM Shehbaz Sharif and accorded a guard of honor. He held one-on-one talks with Sharif before the two sides also held delegation-level talks in the Pakistani capital.
“As I already said to my dear friend, the prime minister, that in the modern world not just big countries possess high technologies, sometimes mid-range or smaller countries also do just like Belarus,” Lukashenko said during a joint news conference with Sharif. 
“We have those technologies and I think Pakistan should develop relations with smaller countries which are ready to share their technologies and on the other hand, we would be very happy to buy from Pakistan what it has to offer to us, including textile and many other things,” he added.
Sharif said he was encouraged by Lukashenko’s “very inspiring” statements on putting agreements on trade and investment into action. He said both sides covered commerce, investment, tourism, defense cooperation and other important issues in the discussions. 
“All these areas will be discussed today immediately after this press conference between the two sides,” Sharif said. “And then they will depart to meet again in two weeks’ time in Minsk where the two teams will meet again and finalize and convert all these discussions into practical steps, arrangements ready for agreements.”
Sharif said in February 2025, he and the Belarusian president will sign the agreements to ensure practical work on them begins. 
Pakistan and Belarus, the world’s 74th-largest economy by GDP, celebrated thirty years of the establishment of diplomatic relations this year. Pakistan was one of the first countries to recognize Belarus after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 and maintained an embassy in Minsk.
The prime minister of Belarus was in Islamabad earlier this year where he met his counterpart as well as the chief of the Pakistan army, among other key leaders.
In September, Pakistan and Belarus discussed different options for a joint venture to establish a tractor plant in the country and reached a consensus on collaborating on a foot-and-mouth disease vaccine to protect cattle, as well as on the capacity building of agricultural engineers in machinery design.
They also agreed to enhance cooperation in the sectors of livestock and seeds and work together on the mechanization of agriculture and on increasing market access for agricultural and livestock products. Belarus also wants to set up a veterinary medicine plant in Pakistan.
In recent months, there has been a flurry of visits, investment talks and economic activity between Pakistan and Central Asian states, including meetings with leaders from Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan.