PAF firepower to be bolstered: PM
Bureau Report

KARACHI—Prime Minister, Shaukat Aziz Friday said Pakistan being a peaceful country needs to maintain a deterrent capability so that we can defend our borders, Airspace andterritorial waters.
He was addressing a ceremony of the Firepower Demonstration-2007 held at Pakistan Air Force (PAF) firing range Sonmiani near Karachi. The occasion marks the culmination of Inter-squadronArmament Competition in which the PAF Fighter Squadron strived for excellence in a healthy, competitive environment.
It was the show of PAF’s sophisticated hurting machines engagingtargets with incomparable accuracy. PAF test fired state of the art air to ground weaponry during this exercise to prove accuracy of the weapons on its inventory for any future conflicts.
Speaking on the occasion, the Prime Minister said thedisplay of PAF firepower clearly shows that the Air Force has developed through the years and the expertise of the pilots as well as the accuracy and their commitment.
He said that the PAF like other defense services of Pakistan, the Army and the Navy has a major role to play in coordinated manner todefend the country.
Appreciating the capabilities of Air Force, the premier said thathe was very impressed by the way the Air Force has developed over the years. “This is essential for maintaining peace not just in Pakistan but in the whole region because Pakistan enjoys the very pivotal location and our strength is clearly a source of stability for the whole region”, said Prime Minister, Shaukat Aziz.
He said that if we look at the Air Force on transport side, the force also plays an important part. Prime Minister maintained that in the time of national disaster we need to move people and goods, the C130 Aircraft is reliable and we can depend on the Air Force for the purpose.
The premier said that the Air Force had a critical role to play as it was the area of our defense family and we are confidently upgrading it so that we stand ahead of the threats that surround us. He noted that as we develop and grow, we will be able to invest more in maintaining peace and maintaining peace means, investing in the Navy, Army and Air Force.
Prime Minister said that being a peaceful country, we want to achieve the minimum credible deterrence.
He said that our nuclear weapon and missile capability was second to none and at the same time these weapons and missiles guarantees our security, sovereignty and integrity, which is, he said is the best grantee for peace.
Among other notables, Governor Balochistan, Owais Ahmed Ghani, Chief Minister Balochistan, Jam Mohammad Yousuf, the Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, Gen. Tariq Majeed, Air Chief Marshal,Tanveer Mehmood and military attaches of other countries were also present.