Will India participate in military exercises in Pakistan this year?

ISLAMABAD/NEW DELHI – Indian forces could participate in joint military drills being held in Pabbi, near Mangla Cantonment under the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), according to media reports.

The news of this development came days after Islamabad and New Delhi are thawing and if the plan goes through it would be the first event that Indian forces will travel to Pakistan for any military exercise.

Reports in Indian media suggest the decision about the actual participation of the Indian troops in the joint exercise is non-committal for time being as a final decision was yet to be taken in New Delhi.

The drills were announced during the 36th meeting of the Council of the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) which held in Uzbekistan on March 18. Besides India, China and Russia will also take part in the drills.

It aimed to strengthen mutual confidence, interoperability and enable sharing of best practices among armed forces of the SCO nations.

Forces of eight nations will arrive in the south Asian country later in the second half of the year at the National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC). NCTC is located near Kharian, a military station, and headquarters of an infantry division, the training institution comes under the direct supervision of the Kharian Division and Mangla Corps.