Admiral M. Asif Sandila on Friday sworn in as Chief of the Naval Staff, during a Change of Command Ceremony of Pakistan Navy held at PNS Zafar Naval Complex here.He is the 19th Chief of the Naval Staff who took the command of Pakistan Navy.

While taking over the command, Admiral M Asif Sandila pledged to never lose sight of the fact that as a potent fighting force, Pakistan Navy has to maintain high level of operational preparedness at all times and it is the fulfillment of this major objective that he shall focus and continue to strive hard to achieve.

Admiral Asif Sandila said that he was fully conscious of his duty to ensure that resources and assets which the nation provides us at the cost of many other important needs, are put to best use for achieving maximum operational effectiveness.

“The contemporary security environment is complex and challenging and our responsibilities, both at sea and ashore, have increased manifold.
Therefore, it is our prime duty to discharge these responsibilities to the fullest satisfaction of the Government and the people of Pakistan,” he added.
Admiral Asif Sandila emphasized that he will actively strive for synergy and seamless integration with sister services in all important and operational matters; “the Navy will go an extra mile for the collective good of the services and evolving joint strategies for employment and development of combat potential.”
He added that cognizant of the need, self reliance in defence, shall be a priority area for him.
He reiterated that under his command, he will continue to cooperate with friendly countries to maintain a lawful order at sea;
“I sincerely feel the oceans of the world despite their vast expanse are a means to unite the nations and Pakistan Navy will maintain global outlook in this respect.”

Bidding farewell to the Outgoing Naval Chief, Admiral Asif Sandila greatly acknowledged the contributions made by the Admiral Noman Bashir by saying that “He had been a distinguished Naval Chief who served and commanded Pakistan Navy with great skill, dynamism and commitment.”

“His vision, proactive approach and focused direction enabled Pakistan Navy to achieve major milestones contributing towards self reliance and capacity building and he shall be remembered for long,” he added.

In his farewell address, Outing Naval Chief, Admiral Noman Bashir said, by the grace of Allah, the Navy today stands as an effective and efficient arm of the country’s Armed Forces, fully capable of protecting our maritime frontiers and maintaining much needed deterrence.

Pakistan Navy has emerged as an effective instrument of national power and capable of showing presence in our area of interest while fully contributing towards nation building, he added.

Noman Bashir urged that to meet the challenges posed in the emerging environment, it was imperative for Pakistan Navy to checkmate any potential conflict scenarios through pragmatic, yet effective employment and deployment strategies.

Pakistan Navy during the preceding three years was adequately trained and structured to pursue our defence and foreign policy objectives safeguard maritime interests and thwart the contemporary security challenges, he added.

Earlier, on their arrival at the venue, the outgoing and newly appointed Naval Chiefs were presented guard of honour.
Later, Admiral Noman Bashir formally handed over the command of Pakistan Navy by presenting the traditional scroll to Admiral M.  Asif Sandila.