PAKISTAN GETS HANGOR PANGS

The paradox of maritime ambition and domestic fragility lies at the heart of Pakistan’s Hangor pangs.’

- ASHISH SINGH

As India celebrated its 79th Independence Day, Pakistan's Navy marked what it hailed as a milestone: the launch of its third Hangorclass submarine at Wuhan's Wuchang Shipyard. Official statements described the event as proof of modernisation and a sign of stronger deterrence in the Arabian Sea.

Yet the timing was striking.

While steel hulls entered the water in China, Pakistani families at home queued up for subsidised flour, coped with double-digit food inflation in recent years, and endured hours-long power cuts as electricity tariffs rose. For citizens, the contrast sharpened a painful truth: their country spends billions abroad on prestige submarines while struggling to provide affordable bread and reliable power.

This paradox of maritime ambition and domestic fragility lies at the heart of Pakistan's "Hangor pangs." The submarines may extend endurance underwater, but they show how misplaced priorities deepen economic and social crises on land.

HANGOR FLEET AMID FISCAL FIRE The Hangor programme traces back to April 2015, when Islamabad signed a contract with Beijing for eight submarines based on China's S26 export version of the Type-039A/B Yuanclass. Four are being built at Wuhan, while four are to be assembled at Karachi Shipyard and Engineering Works (KS&EW) under a transfer-of-technology package. The August 2025 launch marked the third hull built in Wuhan.

The price tag is substantial. Independent assessments place the programme's cost in the USD 5-6 billion range-though Pakistan's Ministry of Defence has never disclosed an official figure. This opacity feeds concerns about transparency and accountability. Transfer-of-technology promises also remain contested. Chinese original equipment manufacturers continue to control integration, and Karachi Shipyard's role is largely assembly. Delays and cost overruns have been reported in the domestic batch, adding to scepticism.