Türkiye-Pakistan joint military exercise concludes

By Aamir Latif

KARACHI, Pakistan (AA) – A two-week joint military exercise involving Turkish and Pakistani troops concluded in northwest Pakistan on Thursday.

The closing ceremony of the exercise dubbed “ATATURK-XII 2023” was held at Tarbela in Swabi district, northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, said a Pakistan Army statement.

Troops from the Turkish Special Forces and Pakistan’s Special Service Group (SSG) participated in the exercise.

The exercise was aimed at sharing mutual experiences in the counter-terrorism domain, rehearsing/adopting best practices, and enhancing cooperation between the two armies, the statement added.

"Drills/techniques regarding Compound and Cave Clearance, Sniper Training, Improvised Explosives Devices (IED) handling and Combat Medic training were special focus areas of the joint exercise," it further said.

This was the 12th joint exercise in the Ataturk series as part of bilateral military cooperation between both friendly countries.

Pakistan Army's Director General Military Training Major-General Asad Nawaz Khan attended the closing event as chief guest.

The Turkish military delegation was led by Center Commander for Counter-Terrorism Training and Exercise Colonel Mustafa Kahraman, it said.​​​​​​​