The Pakistan Navy has inducted a hovercraft and military assault boat into its marine force, according to an official statement. A ceremony was held on PNS Himalaya at Manora Island near Karachi with Admiral Shahid Karimullah, chief of naval staff, as the chief guest. Speaking on the occasion, he said that since their inception the Pakistan Marines had trained very hard and had the potential to grow further. Karimullah said the marines had proved their mettle by participating in internal security operations as well as by safeguarding external security imperatives. The naval chief said the induction of the state-of-the-art crafts was a leap forward in the inventory of the Pakistan Marines. "In order to increase the mobility of the marines, a contract to procure four hovercrafts was signed with M/s Griffon Hovercraft of Britain and an equal number of military assault boats were obtained under a contract with M/s Marsun of Thailand, " said Rear-Admiral Asad Qureshi, Pakistan Navy's Karachi commander.
