ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Russia begun their first-ever joint military exercise named Friendship-2016 on Saturday, a development that has clearly jolted New Delhi.
Around 70 Russian soldiers and officers along with some 130 Pakistani counterparts are taking part in the war games called the Friendship-2016. The name is a symbolical reference to the old Cold War tensions between Moscow and Islamabad, which the two capitals are now trying to overcome.
On Friday, an Ilyushin Il-76 military transport plane landed the Russian troops on the Pakistani soil from their home base in southern Russia.