PAKISTAN TO JOIN CLOSING CEREMONY OF SCO ANTI-TERROR EXERCISE HOSTED BY INDIA

Official and diplomatic sources revealed that Pakistan has been invited to the Joint Anti-Terror Exercise (JATE) closing ceremony on October 13 that is being hosted by India and falls under the ambit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).

According to diplomatic sources, who were later validated by other official sources, "the Pakistan delegation has been extended an invitation for the closing ceremony on the last day of JATE 'Manesar Anti-Terror 2022'."

At the NSG Manesar Garrison, the National Security Guard (NSG) is hosting the multinational JATE "Manesar Anti-Terror 2022" within the framework of the SCO Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS).

A team from Pakistan is reportedly participating as a SCO member, according to an official source. The source mentioned that India took part in the RATS meet that Pakistan hosted the previous year.

At the National Counter Terrorism Centre, Pabbi, in Khyber Pukhtunkhwa, Pakistan hosted the two-week JATE-2021 in September 2021, and an Indian delegation took part in the closing ceremony.

The NSG said in a statement that the exercise aims to improve capabilities for conducting anti-terrorist operations and fighting other security threats collectively by fostering synergy between the Counter Terrorism Forces of the SCO RATS member nations.

As India took over as Chairperson of the SCO-RATS mechanism in October 2021, counterterrorism officials from Pakistan, Russia, China, and four Central Asian nations gathered in Delhi in May. JATE is a yearly counterterrorism exercise that takes place within the SCO RATS.

Four "observers" from the Executive Committee (EC) of RATS and one observer from the State Committee for National Security of Tajikistan will be present for the exercise. High-level delegations from EC RATS, including permanent representatives, delegates from SCO member countries, representatives of SCO member countries' diplomatic missions in India, representatives of international organisations working with RATS SCO, and national delegates from India will attend the closing ceremony, according to the NSG.

According to the statement, the exercise would give the participating member nations a platform to improve their operational skills and share expertise in battling regional security threats like terrorism, separatism, and extremism.