'Pak army to be trained in accordance with conditions in FATA'

Islamabad, Nov 21 : A senior Pakistan Army official has reportedly said that the army's operational force in the Tribal Areas and FATA would be trained in accordance with the conditions in the areas.

He said that the army would be provided state-of-the art weapons in accordance with the budgetary allocation.

Talking to reporters after overseeing war exercise 'Shah Sawar 2008' in Kharian, in North West Frontier Province (NWFP), Mangla Corps Commander Lieutenant Gen Nadeem Ahmed said that all corps and units of the Pakistan Army would be trained using available resources so that capabilities of army personnel to counter any challenge could be enhanced, reported the Daily Times.

He added that Army Chief Gen Ashfaq Kayani had declared 2009 as the year of armed forces' training.

Gen Ahmed further said that the financial crunch being faced by the country was affecting the Army as well, and, hence, the activities regarding the military's training have been curtailed.

Commenting on the war exercise, he said front-strike corps and units could improve their performance in war zones by learning from their mistakes in exercises. The main reason behind such exercises is to learn to take strategic control of the enemy's vital areas in case of a war, the paper quoted him as saying.

ANI