Pak mobilises 50,000 troops for military exercise

Rezaul H Laskar
Islamabad, Apr 9 (PTI) Pakistan has mobilised about
50,000 troops and air force elements for its biggest ever Army
exercise that will begin Saturday along the eastern border
with India.
The exercise, codenamed Azm-e-Nau (New Resolve) 3, is
aimed at training troops for the threat of a conventional war
with India, military officials said.
The wargame, to continue till May 13, will be the
largest manoeuvres conducted by the Pakistan Army since the
Zarb-e-Momin exercise in 1989.
"These exercises will be focussed only on
conventional war on (Pakistan’s) eastern border," Maj Gen
Muzammil Hussain, the Director General of Military Training,
told the media earlier this week.
The six-week field exercise will involve troops from
all arms and services and aircraft and equipment of the
Pakistan Air Force.
It will be conducted in Punjab and Sindh provinces,
which border India.
The manoeuvres will also test the army's
"preparedness to face new challenges and give the soldiers a
real feel of a warfare mission," state-run APP news agency
reported.
The exercise is also the culmination of a process of
wargames, discussions and evolution of a concept of warfare
that is "fully responsive to a wide menu of emerging threats,"
the report said.
The training will be mission-oriented and based on
the prevailing security environment. The Pakistan Air Force's
ongoing High Mark 2010 exercise will be fully integrated with
the army wargame.
The exercise is also aimed at validating and refining
concepts formulated during the year of training initiated by
army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani.
Pakistan has already informed India about the
manoeuvres. The Pakistan Army has traditionally perceived
India as its main threat though security experts, including
those from the US, have said the force now needs to focus on
tackling the Taliban and other militant groups active along
the western border with Afghanistan. PTI RHL
RBT



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