In an impressive passing-out parade held at the Pakistan Naval Academy, 94 officers, including seven females, were commissioned to join the regular naval force on Monday. Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Noman Bashir was the chief guest at the 95th midshipmen commissioning and Fourth Short Service Commission (SSC) graduation parade. Addressing the participants of the parade, the naval chief lauded the participation of women in armed forces, saying that the fourth batch of female officers as part of the parade not only signifies the self assurance of Pakistani women in their abilities but also their will to step into sea-faring profession that has remained an exclusively male preserve in the past. He said that Pakistan today is beset with numerous challenges while the scourge of terrorism continues to plague our national efforts towards a progressive and prosperous nation. He added that he had full conviction that collectively and with dedicated efforts, the nation would surmount all the challenges and Pakistan would find its rightful place in the comity of nations. Addressing the graduating officers, the naval chief said that naval warfare has become an exceedingly vast and complex domain which demands thorough knowledge and ingenuity. Remaining abreast with the developments, both in weaponry and doctrinal concepts is the need of time but modern weaponry alone does not guarantee success. It requires professional skills and undeterred will to accomplish assigned tasks against all odds. In his welcoming address earlier, Pakistan Naval Academy Commandant Commodore Ayaz Ahmed Nasir highlighted the salient features of training at the academy, and apprised that the commissioning term include six officers from Palestine and eight from Saudi Arabia along with 32 short-service commissioned officers, including seven females.
