Pakistan Antarctic Programme

The Pakistan Antarctic Programme (Urdu: پاکستان جنوبی قطب برنامه‎, abbreviated as PAP) is a scientific administrative division of the Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST) which represents the Government of Pakistan on the continent of Antarctica. The program coordinates scientific research and operational support in the region. The program is funded by the Pakistan Science Foundation and the Ministry of Science and Technology.

Currently, the PAP maintains and controls two polar stations in the region: the Jinnah Antarctic Station (JNS), and the Polar Research Cell (PRC), which was established by the National Institute of Oceanography to co-ordinate all Antarctic related activities.

The Antarctic Programme was launched by the National Institute of Oceanography, with the full support of Pakistan Navy's Naval Weapons Engineering Division (NWED). In 1991, Prime minister Nawaz Sharif established the programme under the direction of the Navy. On 15 June 1992, Pakistan became an Associate Member of the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research, but did not accede to the Antarctic Treaty due to economic reasons.

In January 1991, Pakistan dispatched its first expedition to Greater Antarctica under the auspices of the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO). As the programme was led by the Navy, the PN dispatched a small group of Pakistan Marines, along with the team of scientists on board the destroyer PNS Tariq and the research vessel PNS Behr Paima. Facilities were quickly established in the region, and Jinnah Antarctic Station (JNS) was commissioned. The station houses an unmanned automatic Weather Station, from which data are transmitted to Pakistan via Argos Satellite System. In 2001, the Badr-B was connected to the Weather Station after it was launched by SUPARCO. In 2006, Pakistan established the National Institute of Oceanography's Polar Research Cell (PRC).

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