A contingent of Saudi Land Forces is in Pakistan to take part in the exercise
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have started a joint military exercise AL-SAMSAAM-VIII-22 at the National Counter-Terrorism Center (NCTC), Pabbi, according to a press release issued by the ISPR.
The military exercise between the Pak Army and the Royal Saudi Land Forces (RSLF), reportedly commenced with a ceremony at the Counter-Terrorism Training Center which was chaired by General Officer Commanding Maj. Gen. Zafar Iqbal Marwat .
Military troops from both countries took part in the launching ceremony. The drill will be stretched over a span of two weeks.
AL-SAMSAAM-VIII-22, the ongoing military drill, will be focusing on the following areas of counter-terrorism operations;
- Cordon and search
- Combat patrols
- Dealing with IEDs.
It provides participating troops an opportunity to benchmark their respective operational practices and procedures as well as learn from each other’s experiences, said the press release.
As reported by the Saudi press, Maj. Gen. Dost said that the exercise would contribute to achieving a set of important objectives, mainly the integration of expertise between the participating forces to carry out their duties in a teamwork spirit.
He further added that all strategic and field plans for the implementation of the various stages of the drill have been put in place to ensure maximum success.
The Pakistani official was reportedly joined by the Military Attaché at the Saudi Embassy in Islamabad Major General Pilot Awad bin Abdullah al-Zahrani and other high-ranking officers.
Pak-Saudi forces conducted the joint Naseem Al-Bahr 13 naval exercise in the Arabian Sea near Karachi last year in September, with Saudi F-15 aircraft participating in a missile-firing drill for the first time.
AL-SAMSAAM” exercises are being held on a biennial basis since 2004.