Pakistani, Russian special forces launch anti-terror drills at Tarbela

The special forces of Pakistan and Russian launched their weeks-long counter-terrorism exercise at Tarbela on Sunday, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.

The opening ceremony of DRUZHBA-V held at Tarbela with the members of the Pakistani and Russian special forces participated in the two-week exercise.

Opening ceremony of DRUZHBA - V held at Tarbela today. Pak-Russian Federation Special Forces are participating in two weeks long counter terrorism exercise. National anthems of both countries were played at the start of the ceremony. (1/2) pic.twitter.com/bgBKctv1zZ

— DG ISPR (@OfficialDGISPR) November 8, 2020

National anthems of both countries were played at the start of the ceremony in Tarbela.

The ceremony was attended by Russian Ambassador to Pakistan Danila Ganich. Senior officials from both the armies were also present on the occasion.

…The ceremony was attended by Russian ambassador to Pakistan, Mr Danila Ganich. Senior officials from both the armies were present on the occasion. (2/2) pic.twitter.com/e13m1mdzQr

— DG ISPR (@OfficialDGISPR) November 8, 2020

The Russian special forces’ contingent landed in Pakistan on Friday and the ISPR said: “The exercise is aimed at sharing both armies’ experiences in counter terrorism domain.”

Skydiving and hostage rescue operations will be the highlights of exercise Druzhba, Pakistan Army’s spokesperson said.

It is pertinent to note that Pakistan participated in the opening ceremony of multinational military exercises in Russia’s Astrakhan region held in September this year, the Inter-Services Public Relations said.

A contingent of 20 Pakistani commandos took part in the opening ceremony of Kavkaz-2020.

The military drills were conducted from Sept 21-26 aim to assess ability of troops to react to various challenges and learn from each other’s experiences, the ISPR said.

Russian and Chinese armed forces launched the joint military exercises in southern Russia alongside troops from Armenia, Belarus, Iran, Myanmar and Pakistan.

The “Caucasus 2020” drills deployed wheeled vehicles and light weaponry to be flown to out by China’s latest transport aircraft.

In a massive display with hundreds of tanks, armoured personnel carriers, fighter jets and a flotilla of warships, the exercises lasted for about a week with focus on defensive tactics, encirclement and battlefield control and command, according to a statement by the Russian Defence Ministry.

 Some 80,000 troops were involved in the manoeuvres. But Moscow said that the number of frontline soldiers did not exceed 13,000, so it was not obliged to invite observers from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) as stipulated by the 2011 cornerstone Vienna Document that defined the scope of military exercises on European soil.