Maritime Security Agency

The Pakistan Maritime Security Agency (reporting name: PMSA) is a uniform service branch within the Pakistan Navy. It is the Navy-managed and Navy-controlled law enforcement agency whose mission is to provide protection to the Pakistan's maritime interests and enforcement of maritime law with jurisdiction over the domestic and international waters of Pakistan including the exclusive economic zone.

Created on January 1st, 1987 in compliance to the UN Convention on Law of the Sea of 1982, the PMSA functions as a federal regulatory agency under the Ministry of Defence (MoD) whose command level leadership and personnel comes directly from the Pakistan Navy. Apart from enforcing maritime law, the PMSA conduct to assists in military operations against human trafficking, smuggling, and deep sea search and rescue.

The leadership of the agency comes from the external billets appointment approved by the Pakistan Navy and its executive officer is designated as the Director-General who usually at the two-star rank admiral– the Rear-Admiral in the Navy. The current director of the agency is Rear-Admiral Zaka-ur-Rehman who took the directorship of the agency in 2018.

Since 2014, the mission objectives and area of responsibility of the PMSA expanded substantially with Chinese Navy transferring the coast guard vessels to provide maritime protection to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.