RAWALPINDI: Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa visited the training area near Kharian to witness the closing ceremony of International Pakistan Army Team Spirit (PATS) competition, the ISPR said on Wednesday.
Being one of the toughest military competitions, PATS was aimed at testing survival skills and physical limits of the participants in short period of time spread over 62 hours, including 25 field events. Apart from Pakistan Army, PAF, 16 foreign countries including Belarus, China, Egypt, Germany, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Maldives, Palestine, Russia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Turkey, UAE, UK, USA and Uzbekistan participated in the event conducted in challenging terrain at the National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC), Pabbi, and surrounding areas.
The COAS distributed prizes among the winners and runner up. The Karachi Corps was declared the overall best team, Multan Corps was runner up while Rawalpindi Corps remained third. Turkey clinched the gold medal in International Teams while Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka and South African teams were awarded silver medals. Pakistan Air Force got a bronze medal.
Speaking on the occasion, the COAS congratulated the participants for successful completion of the event. The COAS said that sharing of best experiences through series of events will improve combat skills and help integrate armies of participant countries. Training and teamwork are the hallmarks of every soldier, confronted with multifarious challenges in diverse terrain, one has to be in the best physical and mental fitness for a robust and prompt response, the COAS emphasised.
The COAS said that the spirit of sacrifice and patriotism makes a force formidable in the face of any adversity. The COAS thanked all the foreign participants for being part of the event and for showing their prowess.
Commanders Mangla and Gujranwala Corps, senior military officials from Pakistan Army, PAF and defence attaches from various countries were present on the occasion. It is pertinent to mention that the National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC), being state-of-the-art facility with large capacity to impart quality training to combating terrorism in all kinds of terrain, has been recognised as a world class training facility attracting other armies for training with the Pakistan Army.
