Five joint exercises have been conducted at the centre with China,Saudia,Bahrain,SriLanka,Maldives and Turkey
RAWALPINDI: Chief of Army Staff Gen Raheel Sharif on Friday said the Army will defend “each and every inch” of Pakistan “no matter what the cost”, an Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) statement said.
The Army chief, addressing officers at the National Counter-Terrorism Centre near Kharian, said that Pakistan’s armed forces “have the capability to counter the complete threat spectrum”.
Gen Raheel said that Pakistan had, despite being a victim of terrorism for over a decade, been able to turn the tide against terrorism due to the nation’s resilience and the professionalism of its security forces.
The COAS on his visit to the NCTC inaugurated state-of-the-art upgradations to the centre’s infrastructure allowing it accommodate the growing demand of foreign armies and Pakistan’s own law enforcement agencies to train alongside the Pakistan Army.
The addition of the new facilities have made the NCTC one of the best counter-terrorism training facilities among contemporary armies, ISPR claims.
So far, 231,000 troops of the armed forces, 3,483 police officers and civil armed forces men have been trained at the NCTC, Lt Gen Umar Farooq Durrani, Commander of the Strike Corps, briefed the army chief.
He added that five joint exercises have been conducted at the centre with China, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Sri Lanka, Maldives and Turkey.
The Army chief’s strongly-worded statement comes at a time when regional tensions are soaring as Pakistan and India face off at the 71st United Nations General Assembly in New York over the Kashmir issue.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in his address to the UN maintained that Pakistan wants peace with India but it is “not possible without resolving the Kashmir issue”. The premier urged the UN to demilitarise Jammu and Kashmir and called for steps to implement UN Security Council resolutions on Kashmir.
India, exercising its Right of Reply, levelled serious allegations against Pakistan in its rebuttal, terming it a ‘terrorist state’.
General Raheel is best commander; says British Army Chief
MANCHESTER : Chief of British armed forces Nicholas Carter lavished praise on General Raheel Sharif, saying that he is the best military commander in the world.
He was talking to the media after addressing the Pakistani community here he lauded the General Sharif saying, “He is one of my good friends,” adding he viewed Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif’s leadership skills with great regard.
British army chief further said Pakistan’s sacrifices in connection with the continued war against terrorism are commendable.
Replying to a query regarding the ‘heightened situation’ at Indo-Pakistan border, the British general was non-committal saying the leaderships on both side of border are extremely capable and they will go for the best option avoiding to escalate the situation.
Sir Nicholas Carter to another question said that a close relationship existed between the armies of Britain and Pakistan.
Russian troops arrived for 1st ever joint military exercise with Pak
RAWALPINDI: A contingent of Russian ground forces arrived in Pakistan on Friday for the first ever joint Pak-Russian exercise kicking off Sept 24. The two-week-long exercise is expected to continue until Oct 10, Director General Inter-Services Public Relations Asim Bajwa said.
The exercises with Russian ground forces come at a time when tensions between Pakistan and India are running high following an attack on the Uri military camp in India-held Kashmir. Around 200 military personnel of both countries will participate in the drills, Radio Pakistan reported.
The exercise is being seen as a demonstration of closer defence ties between the Pakistan and Russia after they signed a military cooperation pact in 2014.
It comes after intense drills by the Pakistani Air Force (PAF) earlier this week that officials said had been long-planned, including landing combat aircraft on the Islamabad-Lahore motorway.
The PAF on Thursday launched the Highmark Exercise, shutting down sections of the motorway leading out of the capital to land “several” combat aircraft for the first time in six years, a senior security source told AFP.
