KARACHI – Pakistan Navy’s Special Service Group – SSG(N) and Royal SaudiNaval Forces (RSNF) Special Operation Forces have successfully concludedtwo weeks bilateral exercise “AFFA AL SAHIL IV” Pakistan.

The exercise is an important element of bilateral naval cooperation. Theobjectives of the exercise were to improve interoperability, to enhanceprofessional skills, rehearse tactics techniques and procedures andexchange professional experience on Maritime Counter Terrorism Operations.

The exercise was conducted in two phases. The first phase comprisedland/field activities i.e small arms firing, sniper firing, close quartercombat, simulated raid on enemy target, night special ops combat tactics.The evolutions in the first phase helped both forces in refining theessential skills required for operations at High Seas.

In the second phase, Special Maritime Operations at High Seas to thwartMaritime Terrorism, Piracy and Human Trafficking were undertaken. Theengagement culminated with Final Test Exercise (FTX) which was attended byRSNF Special Operation Forces Commander Commodore Hamdan Saleh A Alshehri.

The visiting dignitary appreciated the professionalism and skills displayedby participating teams and highlighted that the exercise will help indeveloping synergy in operations against asymmetric and conventionalthreats. Overall, the exercise achieved all its objectives and remainedhighly beneficial for both sides.

Pakistan Navy and Royal Saudi Naval Forces – RSNF have a rich history ofmutual exchanges which is a derivative of the brotherly ties between thepeople of both the nations. The exercise AFFA AL SAHIL being the engagementof Special Forces signifies the level of trust between the two brotherlycountries.