“A contingent of Russian ground forces arrived in Pakistan for first ever Pak-Russian joint exercise from September 24 to October 10,” army spokesman Lt-Gen Asim Bajwa tweeted along with some photographs of the Russian and Pakistan troops.
A mechanised infantry unit of the Russian military Friday arrived in Pakistan to participate in the first-ever joint military drills dubbed ‘Friendship-2016’ starting from Saturday, reflecting growing military ties between the two former Cold War rivals.
“A contingent of Russian ground forces arrived in Pakistan for first ever Pak-Russian joint exercise from September 24 to October 10,” army spokesman Lt-Gen Asim Bajwa tweeted along with some photographs of the Russian and Pakistan troops.
A statement by Russia’s Southern Military Command said the drills will involve over 70 servicemen of the Southern Military Command, including the Mountain Mobile Brigade’s personnel deployed to the Karachay-Cherkessia Republic (North Caucasus), and also officers from the headquarters’ staff.
“The joint military drills are aimed at bolstering and building up military cooperation between the two countries,” it said ahead of the opening ceremony Saturday which is scheduled to take place at Pakistan Army’s High Altitude School in Rattu, Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan-administered Kashmir.
About 200 troops from the two countries will take part in the two-week long military drills which have been termed as a sign of growing military ties between the former rivals of Cold War era.
The joint drill is seen as another step in growing military-to-military cooperation, indicating a steady growth in bilateral relationship between the two countries, whose ties had been marred by Cold War rivalry for decades.
Press Trust of India