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Russian Special Forces ‘Spetsnaz’ Arrives In PAKISTAN To Conduct ‘Druzhba 2020’ Joint Friendship Drills With ‘SSG Commandos’:
A Contingent of Russian Special Forces, commonly known as Spetsnaz, arrives in PAKISTAN to participate in the consecutive 5th Edition of Russia-PAKISTAN Joint Exercise named as DRUZHBA 2020 ‘Joint Friendship Drills’ with PAKISTAN ARMY’s Most Feared and Respected SSG Commandos, PAKISTAN ARMY Media Wing Head Director General Inter-Services Public Relations (DG ISPR) Major General Babar Iftikhar said in an official statement on Official Twitter Account.
This is the 5th Consecutive Edition of DRUZHBA Joint Friendship Drills between the Special Forces Operators of PAKISTAN and Russia.
According to the details, the Special Forces of Russian Federation, Spetsnaz, will conduct unconventional DRUZHBA 2020 Joint Friendship Drills including Counter Terrorism, Hostage Rescue Mission and Airborne Training with the Special Forces of PAKISTAN ARMY commonly known as Special Services Group or SSG.
The Two Week Long DRUZHBA 5 Joint Drills will allow the Special Forces of both PAKISTAN and Russia to learn from their experience gained in a battlefield.
“Russian Federation Special Forces’ contingent arrived in PAKISTAN for 2 weeks long joint exercise DRUZHBA 5. The exercise is aimed at sharing both Armies experiences in counter terrorism domain. Sky diving & hostage rescue operations will be highlights of exercise DRUZHBA,” DG ISPR said in an official statement on Twitter Account.
The DRUZHBA is a Russian Word which means Friendship.
Timeline of PAKISTAN-Russia DRUZHBA Joint Drills:
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First Edition of DRUZHBA Joint Exercise:
The very first Edition of DRUZHBA Exercise or DRUZHBA 1 Joint Drills were started back in 2016. The very first edition of the exercise took place at the Headquarter of Special Services Group or SSG in Cherat, PAKISTAN.
2. Second Edition of DRUZHBA Joint Exercise:
The Second of DRUZHBA Exercise of DRUZHBA 2 Joint Drills took place the mountains and forests of Russia’s North Caucasus republic of Karachaevo-Cherkessia.
3. Third Edition of DRUZHBA Joint Exercise:
The third edition of the DRUZHBA Exercise or DRUZHBA 3 Joint Drills DRUZHBA Friendship Drills took place at the National Counter-Terrorism Centre or NCTC, Pabbi, Kharian in PAKISTAN.
4. Fourth Edition of DRUZHBA Joint Drills:
The fourth Edition of DRUZHBA Exercise or DRUZHBA 4 Friendship Drills took place in Krasnodar’s Region of Russian Federation.
5. Fifth Edition of DRUZHBA Joint Drills:
The Fifth Edition of DRUZHBA Exercise or DRUZHBA 2020 Friendship Drills or DRUZHBA 5 will be conducted at the Headquarters of Special Services Group (SSG) in PAKISTAN.
The DRUZHBA 2020 Joint Friendship Drills took place each year and includes various aspects of Airborne Training, Rescue Missions, Counter Terrorism and Special Operations.
This is the 5th Consecutive Edition of the DRUZHBA Joint Drills being conducted in PAKISTAN. It is pertinent to mention that both PAKISTAN and Russia hold these drills after a Year Gap.
#Russian Federation Special Forces’ contingent arrived in Pakistan for 2 weeks long joint exercise DRUZHBA 5. The exercise is aimed at sharing both armies experiences in counter terrorism domain. Sky diving & hostage rescue operations will be highlights of exercise #DRUZHBA. pic.twitter.com/XUeO5XCgRt
— DG ISPR (@OfficialDGISPR) November 5, 2020
It is pertinent to mention that the DRUZHBA Joint Friendship Drills between the Special Forces Operator of both PAKISTAN and Russia can be seen as another concrete step in growing military to military strategic cooperation between the Armed Forces of both the Friendly Countries, whose ties had been severely marred by the late 1980’s Cold War rivalry for decades which took place in Afghanistan.
It is important to mention that apart from DRUZHBA 2020 Joint Friendship Drills, the Armed Forces of both the Friendly Countries also took part in the KavKaz 2020 Multinational Military Exercise, which took place in the Russian City of Astrakhan.
Moreover, the Special Forces Operators of both the Friendly Countries also took part in Tsentr 2019 or Center 2019 Military Wargames. Apart from PAKISTAN and Russia, troops from Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan also participated in the exercise.
