Peace Mission-2018: 3000 Troops from India, Pakistan Ready for Military Drills in Russia

Peace Mission – 2018 will see more than 3000 troops from the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member nations participating in anti-terror drills, which includes arch-rivals India and Pakistan for the first time. 300 troops from the Kazakh Armed Forces will also take part in the defence exercise, besides other member states. This was reported on Thursday by the press service of the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

India and Pakistan will jointly take part in ‘Peace Mission-2018’, under the aegis of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. Even though Indian and Pakistani troops have served together in UN missions before, Indian soldiers have never actively participated in a multilateral exercise that included regional foes Pakistan in the past.

SCO Peace Mission 2018

It is noted that this year the military drill will be held at the Chebarkul training ground in the Chelyabinsk Oblast, in Russia from August 22 to August 29. “The purpose of the Peace Mission-2018 is to enhance the cooperation with the armed forces of other SCO states. This includes joint anti-terrorist operation, increase the combat preparedness of other SCO nations, comprising their management bodies, troops and other defence personnel to combat terrorism, extremism and separatism,” the ministry explained.

More than 3,000 troops from the armed forces of the SCO states which include India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, China, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan will be involved in the Peace Mission 2018 exercise.

The aim of the joint military drill, as envisioned, is to develop and execute joint strategies in case of terrorists capturing a part of the territory of one of the SCO nations” the press service specified.

The anti-terrorist drill “Peace Mission” is held every two years. In 2016, the joint military drill was conducted in Kyrgyzstan, in 2014 – in China, in 2012 – in Tajikistan, in 2010 – in Kazakhstan.

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