RAWALPINDI, Pakistan: The Pakistan Army is sending a contingent of troops to Saudi Arabia on a training and advice mission, the media wing of the Pakistan Armed Forces said in a statement on Thursday.
Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said it is part of the ongoing cooperation between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.
“Troops already there will not be employed outside KSA. The Pakistan army maintains bilateral security cooperation with many other GCC/regional countries,” the statement said.
Before the announcement, Nawaf Saeed Al-Maliki, ambassador of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, met Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa, chief of army staff (COAS), on Thursday at Pakistan Army’s headquarters in Rawalpindi.
“Matters of mutual interest including the regional security situation were discussed during the meeting,” the ISPR press release said.
“Pakistan and Kingdom have decades-long ties and cooperation in the field of defense, so it is important for the continuation of strategic relations,” Zafar Jaspal, professor at the school of politics and international relations in Quaid-e-Azam University, told Arab News.
“This development will not have an impact on Islamabad’s relations with any other country because the army clarified that these troops will only be on a training and advice mission,” Jaspal said.
Hasan Askari, a leading Pakistani political analyst, told Arab News that the announcement of sending more troops “reaffirms the policy of military cooperation between the two countries that has a long and positive history.”
“Pakistani troops already stationed in Kingdom work just within the limits of Saudi Arabia, so it should not be matter of concern for any other country,” Askari said.
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia enjoy close cooperation in diverse fields including defense cooperation. Armed forces of both countries regularly conduct military exercises; defense officials from Pakistan and the Kingdom also travel to each other’s county and share their experiences.
On Dec. 12, Mohammed bin Abdullah Al-Aysh, Saudi deputy defense minister, visited Pakistan and met with the Pakistani defense minister and military officials.
During the visit, Khurram Dastgir Khan, Pakistani defense minister, proposed an all-encompassing strategic cooperation agreement to deepen defense ties between the two countries.
Pakistan to send more troops to Saudi Arabia: ISPR
Pakistan to send more troops to Saudi Arabia: ISPR
No sign Iran’s nuclear sites were hit, IAEA says, but Iran alleges one was
VIENNA: The UN nuclear watchdog has no indication Israeli and US attacks on Iran have hit any nuclear facilities, its chief Rafael Grossi told the agency’s Board of Governors on Monday, moments before Iran’s envoy said one was targeted a day earlier.
Iran’s nuclear program has been among the reasons Israel and the US have given for the attacks, alleging Iran was getting too close to being able to eventually make an atom bomb.
At the same time, what remains of Iran’s atomic facilities after the two militaries attacked them in June appears to have been largely spared in this campaign so far.
“We have no indication that any of the nuclear installations ... have been damaged or hit,” International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi said in a statement to a meeting of his agency’s 35-nation Board of Governors.
What that assessment was based on is unclear, since he also said his agency had not been able to reach its counterparts in Iran. Tehran has not let the IAEA return to its bombed facilities since they were attacked in June.
“Efforts to contact the Iranian nuclear regulatory authorities ... continue, with no response so far. We hope this indispensable channel of communication can be re-established as soon as possible,” he said.
Moments later, Iran’s ambassador to the IAEA, Reza Najafi, told reporters outside the closed-door meeting that the sprawling nuclear complex at Natanz had been attacked.
Natanz housed two uranium-enrichment plants that were attacked in June — an above-ground one that the IAEA says was destroyed and an underground one that was at least badly damaged, among other facilities.
“Again they attacked Iran’s peaceful, safeguarded nuclear facilities yesterday,” Najafi said. Asked by Reuters which facilities were hit, he replied: “Natanz” and left.
