LAHORE – Pakistan and India will participate in a joint counter-terrorism exercise to be hosted by the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) later this year.
The joint military exercise is expected to take place in Kazakhstan’s Sary Arka region as part of the SCO’s agenda to combat common challenges and threats, according to reports in Indian media.
India and Pakistan together became full-fledged members of the SCO, a China-dominated regional security grouping, in 2017.
The two nations had also taken part in an SCO joint military exercise in 2018 which took place in Russia. The exercise witnessed the participation of troops from India, Pakistan, China, Russia, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, which together constitute the SCO.
https://en.dailypakistan.com.pk/headline/pm-imran-to-attend-sco-summit-in-bishkek-on-june-13/
Prime ministers of both Pakistan and India are heading to Kyrgyz capital of Bishkek for the 19th Meeting of the Council of the Heads of State, between 13-14 June.
This will be the first time that Imran Khan and Narendra Modi will come face-to-face.
Tensions between the two nations escalated after the Pulwama attack in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed after a suicide bomber blew up an Indian paramilitary convoy carrying personnel to Kashmir on 14 February.
Following the Pulwama attack, India claimed a ‘surgical strike’ in Balakot, Pakistan, blaming the militant Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) for the attack.
https://en.dailypakistan.com.pk/headline/paf-announces-to-remember-its-response-against-india-as-operation-swift-retort/
The next day, Feb 27th, Pakistan Air Force (PAF) shot down two Indian fighter jets over the disputed border region of Kashmir.
Following the Feb 27 strikes, India confirmed the loss of one plane (MiG-21 Bison) and said it shot down a Pakistani jet (F-16) as it responded to the incident. However, the Indian claim was later debunked by US officials who said that they have counted the number of Pakistan Air Force F-16s in service and can say that none were lost to the Indian Air Force on Feb 27 this year.
Pakistan also captured an Indian pilot, Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, and to India’s fury, published a video of him. He was later handed over to India authorities.
