ISLAMABAD: Pakistan concluded a three-day, 60-hour joint military training exercise with participating teams from Saudi Arabia, the United States, Jordan and other countries this week, Pakistan Army’s media wing said on Thursday.
Pakistan opened the 7th International Pakistan Army Team Spirit (PATS) Exercise in the northwestern town of Pabbi on Sunday. The exercise, which ran from Feb. 25-27, was aimed at enhancing combat skills through the sharing of innovative ideas and experiences by participants.
The exercise would also help hone basic soldierly attributes besides interoperability through the sharing of innovative ideas and mutual best practices, the ISPR said last week.
Seven teams from the Pakistan Army and 15 teams from Bahrain, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Saudi Arabia, Maldives, Morocco, Qatar, the US, Uzbekistan, Srilanka, Thailand and Turkiye participated in the exercise. Azerbaijan, China, Germany, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia and Myanmar witnessed the exercise as observers, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said.
“The exercise was conducted from 25-27 Feb 2024 in the semi-mountainous terrain of Punjab,” the ISPR said. “Over the years, the exercise has gained much prominence as a very competitive professional military activity for friendly countries.”
Pakistan’s army chief General Syed Asim Munir attended the event’s closing ceremony at the eastern city of Kharian, the ISPR said. Munir appreciated the participating teams for their professionalism, and for demonstrating physical and mental endurance during the various stages of the exercise.
“At the end, COAS [chief of army staff] gave away individual and team awards to the participants of the exercise,” the ISPR said.
Pakistan routinely holds joint air, ground and sea exercises with friendly nations to foster interoperability and joint deployment concepts to counter threats to global peace.
Several cadets from these nations annually visit the South Asian country, which has fought back militancy for decades, to undergo specialized military training.
Pakistan concludes 60-hour joint military exercise with Saudi Arabia, US, other nations
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Pakistan concludes 60-hour joint military exercise with Saudi Arabia, US, other nations
- The exercise was held at semi-mountainous terrain of Pakistan’s Punjab province from Feb. 25-27
- Pakistan’s army chief attends closing ceremony, lauds participating teams for their professionalism
Pakistan PM takes notice of passenger offloading issue, forms committee to streamline immigration
- Several passengers complained last month of being offloaded at airports despite having genuine travel documents
- Committee comprising IT minister to be led by minister for overseas Pakistanis, submit report to PM within three weeks
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has taken notice of reports of arbitrary offloading of Pakistani passengers at various airports and has constituted a 14-member committee to streamline immigration procedures, the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis said this week.
The development took place after several passengers last month complained they were being offloaded at various Pakistani airports despite carrying valid travel documents, drawing public ire on social media platforms.
These reports coincided with Islamabad’s crackdown on illegal immigration, which gained significant attention in Pakistan after the arrest of several Pakistani and foreign nationals at airports with forged documents in recent years.
As per a notification by the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis seen by Arab News dated Dec. 15, Sharif has formed a 14-member committee comprising the federal IT minister, state minister for overseas Pakistanis, and secretaries of both ministries. The committee will be led by the federal minister for overseas Pakistanis.
“A committee comprising the following members has been constituted to deliberate upon and implement measures for eliminating and minimizing human discretionary elements in the issuance and renewal of the Protectorate of Emigrants (POE) stamp for bona fide emigrants proceeding abroad,” the notification reads.
A POE stamp is a mandatory government endorsement on a Pakistani passport that is required by a citizen traveling abroad for employment.
The committee’s terms of reference (ToRs) include suggesting a “workable and end-to-end digitized process” for online issuance of POE stamps. It has also been tasked to undertake measures to develop a system to facilitate the online renewal of POE stamps.
The committee will suggest a mechanism to monitor workers’ satisfaction with the issuance, renewal of POE stamps and related immigration clearance arrangements.
“[Provide] recommendations for any other related measures which can improve the existing POE arrangements and bring them in line with international best practices,” it added.
The notification said the committee will finalize its findings within three weeks and submit a report to the prime minister.
Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi last month urged authorities not to offload passengers with valid travel documents.
Pakistan has also intensified its crackdown against individuals accused of exploiting visas to solicit money in Saudi Arabia.
Officials have warned the practice is damaging the country’s image and could affect genuine visa seekers, including religious pilgrims.
