By Imran Nasir

ISLAMABAD - The 60 hours long arduous and rigorous 6th International Pakistan Army Team Spirit (PATS) Competition was concluded in northwestern Pakistan on Saturday.

An impressive closing ceremony was held at National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) Pabbi in Nowshera district near Peshawar, which was attended by Chief of Army Staff  General Syed Asim Munir as the Chief Guest.

Seven Pakistan Army teams, Pakistan Navy and 10 international teams including Bahrain, KSA, Morocco, Uzbekistan, Thailand, Jordan, USA, Iraq, Kazakhstan and Qatar participated in the competition, while, teams of Azerbaijan, Canada, Gambia, Indonesia, Myanmar, Maldives, Senegal, Sudan, UAE and UK participated as observers.

The competition continued day and night from 7-9 March in the mountainous and rugged terrain of Pabbi.

Over the years, the competition has gained much popularity and has become an international team spirit evaluation event.

While addressing the ceremony, General Asim Munir appreciated the participating teams for their professionalism, endurance and high morale displayed during various stages of the exercise.

He reiterated, “as a training exercise, PATS appropriately replicates the degree of emphasis given by all armies on physical fitness, combat skills and teamwork of their troops in the face of evolving character of warfare.

“To this end, Pakistan Army upholds soldierly attributes of courage, mutual cooperation, resilience and competence which have been displayed during our ongoing fight against terrorism,” he said.

Army Chief also gave away prizes and medals to the participants of the competition. International observers and Defence Attaches of participating countries also attended the ceremony.