Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has said the government would continue to extend full support to strengthening defence capabilities of the Pakistan Navy.
Gilani made the remark while talking to the new chief of Naval Staff Admiral M Asif Sandila, reported Associated Press of Pakistan.
The Prime Minister asked the naval chief to continue the policy of induction of women as officers and sailors in the navy. He said his government did not believe in gender discrimination.
He also directed the admiral to encourage recruitment of Baloch youth in the navy, like the Pakistan Army that had recruited around 6,000 people from the province.
Gilani said the Pakistan Navy should open up recruitment centres, educational institutions and hospitals in remote and less developed areas of the country, especially in Balochistan, Sindh and southern Punjab.