ISLAMABAD: Fourth International Pakistan Army Team Spirit (PATS) Competition-2021 commenced at the National Counter-Terrorism Centre, Pabbi, near Kharian, on Monday.

Besides eight domestic teams of the Pakistan Army, teams from eight allied countries were also participating in the competition, said an Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) press release.

The teams from Jordan, Sri Lanka, Turkey and Uzbekistan will take part as participants, whereas Morocco, Indonesia, Kaza­khstan and Tajikistan will be participating as observers in the three-day competition.

The competition has been designed to test tactical skills in physical and professional domains as well as agility of the participating teams to generate responses in challenging real-time field scenarios.

The 62-hour-long event will subject the teams to various cross-domain scenarios and encompass tasks, including physical endurance, water obstacle crossing, close target reconnaissance and protective approach under chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear environment.

Last year, according to the ISPR, seven Pakistan Army teams, Pakistan Air Force and international teams and representatives from 16 countries had taken part in the third international PATS competition.

Spread over 2,500 acres, the National Counter-Terrorism Centre, Pabbi, was established in 2009 and its infrastructure was upgraded five years later to accommodate foreign armies’ and domestic law enforcement agencies’ growing demand for training with the Pakistan Army.

According to the ISPR, the addition of new facilities turned the NCTC into the best counter-terrorism training facility amongst the contemporary armies.

Published in Dawn, March 2nd, 2021