COAS witnesses event attended by many countries

RAWALPINDI: The 60 hours long arduous and rigorous 6th International Pakistan Army Team Spirit (PATS) Competition concluded at the National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC), Pabbi, with an impressive closing ceremony on Saturday.

According to the statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Syed Asim Munir graced the occasion as the chief guest.

Seven Pakistan Army teams, Pakistan Navy and 10 international teams — Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Uzbekistan, Thailand, Jordan, the USA, Iraq, Kazakhstan and Qatar — participated in the competition. Teams from Azerbaijan, Canada, Gambia, Indonesia, Myanmar, Maldives, Senegal, Sudan the UAE and the UK attended as observers.

The competition continued day and night from 7 to 9 March in the mountainous and rugged terrain of Pabbi.

Over the years, the competition has gained much popularity and has become an international team spirit evaluation event.

While addressing the ceremony, the COAS appreciated the participating teams for their professionalism, endurance and high morale displayed during various stages of the exercise. Gen Asim reiterated as a training exercise, PATS appropriately replicates the degree of emphasis given by all armies on physical fitness, combat skills and teamwork of their troops in the face of evolving character of warfare.

“To this end, Pakistan Army upholds soldierly attributes of courage, mutual cooperation, resilience and competence, which have been displayed during our ongoing fight against terrorism,” he said. The COAS also gave away prizes and medals to the participants of the competition. International observers and defence attaches of participating countries also attended the ceremony.