ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Defence Khurram Dastgir Khan introduced the Joint Maritime Information Organization (JMIO) Bill 2018 in the National Assembly (NA) on Wednesday.
The JMIO would act as a nerve centre for collecting, fusing, and disseminating information related to maritime domain to all stakeholders. Since the concept involved a number of stakeholders and agencies, which had peculiar command structures and organisations, therefore, a bill passed by the parliament was considered imperative to achieving seamless integration of all organisations.
The maritime security had assumed significant importance in the contemporary global environment. Major threats emanating at sea include piracy, transnational criminal activities, illegal fishing, smuggling, human and drug trafficking, gun running, etc. Such threats could assume asymmetric proportions for the state. Early detection and timely warning to various agencies responsible for maritime security would enable coordinated, immediate, and effective response to emerging situations. Majority of the maritime states had already restructured their maritime security organisations under a similar concept.
Pakistan Navy conceived Joint Maritime Information Organization (JMIO) concept in 2012 to establish a formal mechanism for effective exchange of maritime related information between all stakeholders. Consequently, a Joint Maritime Information Coordination Centre (JMICC) was established under the auspices of Pakistan Navy at PNS Qasim in Karachi on February 7, 2013.