Pakistan has advanced three separate military programs in the past week, all concentrated in the same geography stretching from Sindh through the Arabian Sea. Nearly 250 Chinese SH-15 howitzers have been positioned facing India, a Chinese-built Hangor-class submarine has sailed out of Karachi, and Sir Creek has become the site of Project Ababeel, as reported by Firstpost.

Ababeel is described as an air defence system for Sir Creek and the Arabian Sea, coordinated with the Army’s newly formed Rocket Force to counter threats along that coastline. The Hangor submarine now based in Karachi operates in the same waters.

The SH-15 deployment includes batteries in the south, near the Sindh and Rajasthan sectors bordering Sir Creek. A rocket force, a coastal air defence system, a submarine and an artillery fleet, all active in the same theatre within the same stretch of months, represent a layered build-up that demands scrutiny.

China’s role is visible across each of these developments. The SH-15 is Chinese-built and now produced under licence at Heavy Industries Taxila. The Hangor submarine runs on Chinese air-independent propulsion technology and operates alongside newly inducted Chinese Tughril-class frigates.

Project Ababeel draws on Chinese hovercraft and Turkish drones. Beijing sits at the centre of every one of these programs, at a time when Pakistan’s National Strategic Command has been modelled on the structure of China’s PLA Rocket Force.

The timing of these deployments coincides with a significant diplomatic event in Jeddah. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Army Chief Asim Munir and Turkish President Erdogan met Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to sign a trilateral defence pact between Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey. 

This comes after last September’s Saudi-Pakistan Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement, which already declared that an attack on either country would be treated as an attack on both.

The new framework covers joint exercises, technology transfer and intelligence sharing, according to Firstpost. Pakistan’s concentrated military build-up along its coastline therefore appears less like coincidence and more like a posture being assembled under the cover of new political and technological partnerships.

For India, this development has direct implications. India’s theatre command reform, already nearing Cabinet approval, has been designed precisely to counter scenarios of layered pressure across a single front. Turkey’s presence in the Jeddah pact sharpens the challenge further.

Ankara has become Pakistan’s most reliable arms supplier after China, and its drones featured heavily in Pakistan’s arsenal during Operation Sindoor, where Indian air defences neutralised them effectively.

A trilateral pact with technology-transfer clauses could deepen that pipeline. The concentrated build-up along Pakistan’s western seaboard is a reminder of why theatre command reform matters, and India’s forces along Sir Creek and the Arabian Sea have already demonstrated, most recently during Operation Sindoor, that they can identify and respond to coordinated pressure when required.

Agencies