https://arab.news/8ju2s
- The two-week Jalmood-I exercise at Tarbela focused on hostage-rescue and counterterrorism training
- The two countries have decades of military collaboration, broader economic and security cooperation
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates concluded a two-week joint counterterrorism exercise on Tuesday aimed at bolstering cooperation in hostage-rescue and elite operations, the Pakistani military said.
The drill, known as Exercise Jalmood-I, took place at the Special Services Group (SSG) training center near Tarbela and involved elite troops from the Pakistani Army and the UAE Presidential Guards.
“The exercise was aimed at enhancing joint operational skills in hostage-rescue and counter-terrorism operations, as well as strengthening military cooperation between Pakistan and the UAE,” the military’s media wing, Inter‑Services Public Relations (ISPR), said in a statement.
High-ranking UAE military officials and diplomats attended the closing ceremony alongside Pakistan’s SSG General Officer Commanding, signalling the two countries’ deepening defense partnership.
Pakistan and the UAE maintain robust bilateral relations spanning defense, investment and regional diplomacy.
The UAE has pledged billions of dollars of investment into Pakistan’s economy in recent years, helping bolster Islamabad’s external financing as it faces economic pressures.
The defense relations between the two countries go back to the late 1960s and early 1970s, when Pakistani troops trained members of the Abu Dhabi defense forces at the request of the UAE founder.