27 August 2024, Karachi - An Interagency Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) Analysis Training Course, including an introduction to the Skylight System, commenced at the Marriott Hotel today. The legal workshop is being organized by UNODC Country Office Pakistan under the provisions of the project entitled ‘Improved National Response against Drugs and Contraband Trafficking in the Maritime Domain (Phase II)’ – funded by the U.S. Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL). The project’s beneficiaries include Pakistan’s counternarcotics and maritime law enforcement agencies (MLEAs) such as the Anti Narcotics Force, Pakistan Customs, Pakistan Coast Guards, and the Pakistan Maritime Security Agency. The training was kick-started by Mr. Raja Sharjeel Soomro – Programme Officer of INL Pakistan, together with Mr. Saqib Khan – UNODC Pakistan’s Programme Officer (Border Management), and Ms. Ayesha Niaz – Chief of Exports & Exemption, Federal Bureau of Revenue.
Being facilitated by UNODC GMCP’s international trainers Mr. Graham Harrison and Mr. Tiago Zanella, this basic-level MDA Analysis Training is designed to familiarize maritime law enforcement officials of the four MLEAs with the patterns of life at sea and maritime threats. The course also embeds services for terrestrial and satellite monitoring of vessels combined with terrestrial surveillance systems and informs of the limitations and vulnerabilities of the systems, such as the Skylight System – an online platform for monitoring vessel activities that may be non-compliant with various maritime regulations.
