Pakistan and Indian Armies to make a history with first ever joint military drills

*MOSCOW: Pakistan and Indian militaries will make a history byparticipating together in multi-nation military exercise in Russia’s UralMountains in August this year.*

The military exercise will be organized by the Shanghai CooperationOrganization (SCO), a bloc of Eurasian countries of which Russia, China,India, and Pakistan are a party to.

The joint military drill will focuses on preventing terror attacks anddismantling terror networks. They have been dubbed “Peace Mission 2018.”The SCO training will be held between the end of August and beginning ofSeptember in the Ural Mountains in Russia.

Indian Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said India would beparticipating in the multi-nation military exercises despite tensions withChina and Pakistan.

[image: Pakistan India joint military drills SCO]link>

“Our shared neighborhood facing a range of issues such as cross-borderterrorism, extremism, cyber security, and narcotics trafficking. Theseissues require solutions based on cooperative frameworks that involve allcountries and stakeholders.

“India will participate strongly in SCO Peace Mission joint militaryexercises being held in Russia later this year. We believe the cooperationin SCO framework will help further strengthen India’s bilateral defenseties in the region.”

In the past, Pakistan and Indian soldiers have operated together aspeacekeepers under the missions conducted by the United Nations. However,this will be the first-ever military exercise in which both the countrieswill operate together in a mock operation against terrorists.

The SCO was established in 2001 by founding members China,Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Kazakhstan. It has since grown toencompass India, Uzbekistan, and Pakistan, with four other countriesholding “observer” status and another six acting as “dialogue” partners.

The Eurasian organization serves the economic, security, and politicalinterests of its member states. Observers include Iran, Afghanistan, andBelarus, while Turkey, Armenia, and Azerbaijan, are among the nationsholding dialogue partner status.