Army Chief visits NCTC, reviews trilateral exercise Eagle Dash-I

RAWALPINDI: Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Raheel Sharif visited National Counter Terrorism Training Centre (NCTC), Pabbi and witnessed the trilateral exercise "Eagle Dash-I" taking place between Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Maldives. 

According to a statement released by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) branch of the Pakistan Army, the two-week long exercise focused on counter terrorism operations and sharing of field combat experience of three Armed forces.

Owing to the successes of Operation Zarb-e-Azb, a large number of friendly countries have requested Pakistan Army to organize trainings for their troops at Pakistan's state of the art Counter Terrorism Training Centre. So far Pakistan Army has conducted joint exercises with Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, China and Jordan to enhance their combat efficiency. Pakistani troops have also imparted counter terrorism training to Police and other law enforcement agencies of all four provinces, Gilgit Baltistan and Azad Kashmir, the statement read. 

Speaking on the occasion the Army Chief  congratulated all participants of the exercise for displaying a high level of professionalism and combat skills. 

He underscored, that such exercises will consolidate the special relationship between the three forces and help eliminate terrorism from the region.

The Army Chief added, that terrorism is a global phenomenon and terrorists have no country, religion or sect. Hence a coordinated global response from us all. He said that Pakistan has been victim of terrorism for over a decade and sacrified a lot but at the end we have turned the tide primarily due to the resilience displayed by the whole nation and professionalism of our armed forces. We are willing to share our experiences with the world for the benefit of humanity and as an obligation towards International peace. 

COAS said that Pakistan Army has also taken the initiative of providing counter terrorism training to our police personnel and other law enforcement agencies in Pakistan in an effort to enhance their capacity and make them capable of skillfully dealing with this menace in an efficient manner. 

Foreign military delegates from Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Maldives and South Africa witnessed the exercise and lauded the professionalism of Pakistan Army.