Pak-Saudi military exercise kicks off
* ISPR says drill not an operational deployment

RIYADH/RAWALPINDI: A joint military exercise of Saudi Infantry and Pakistani Special Forces kicked off Sunday at King Salman’s Mountain Warfare Center on Shamrakh field near Saudi Arabia’s southwestern city of Baha, the official Saudi press agency reported on Monday.

The drill, dubbed “Al-Samsam 5”, comes as “an extension of a series of joint exercises between Saudi ground forces and a group of forces from friendly countries, including Pakistan,” drill director Shaeh bin Abdullah al-Qarni said during a speech delivered at a ceremony marking the occasion, SPA reported.

“The exercise will focus on the war in difficult mountainous terrain environments and irregular operations,” al-Qarni said, noting that “participants in the exercise include the Royal Saudi Air Forces, Land Forces Aviation, and units of the Border Guards.”

Al-Omari also noted that the exercise “has nothing to do with any current military operations, but it is a complement to raise the level of performance and effectiveness of the military forces,” according to SPA.

In Pakistan, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Maj General Asim Saleem Bajwa said that a pre-scheduled Pak-Saudi joint exercise ‘Samsam-5’ was being carried out since March 19 in Taif.

In his tweet on social media, he said that 292 Pakistani troops were participating in the exercise, and that it was not an operational deployment.

He said the joint exercise ‘Samsam’ was held every year. Last year, it was held near Jhelum in Pakistan.

Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk

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