Article Posted on : - Apr 06, 2010

ISLAMABAD (PTI): The Pakistan Army will launch its biggest ever wargame next week to train for the threat of a conventional war with India, top military officials said.

"These exercises will be focused only on conventional war on (Pakistan's) eastern border," Maj Gen Muzammil Hussain, the Director General of Military Training, told a news briefing in Rawalpindi Monday.

The exercise, codenamed Azm-e-Nau (New Resolve) 3, will involve close to 50,000 troops and aircraft of the Pakistan Air Force.

The wargame, to begin on April 10 and continue till May 13, will be the largest manoeuvres conducted by the army since the Zarb-e-Momin exercise in 1989.

The wargame will be conducted in Punjab and Sindh provinces, which border India, officials said.

The upcoming exercise is of a conventional nature and "aimed at ensuring peace in the region by encountering threats through a strategic approach", said chief military spokesman Maj Gen Athar Abbas.

He added that India had been informed about the manoeuvres.

The Pakistan Army has traditionally perceived India as its main threat though security experts, including those from the US, have said the force now needs to focus on tackling the Taliban and other militant groups active along the western border with Afghanistan.

Hussain said the army is aware of internal security issues but could not "be oblivious to what could happen on the eastern border" with India.

The six-week field exercise will involve troops from all arms and services, aircraft and equipment of the Pakistan Air Force, he said.

"The exercise is the culmination of a long and deliberate process of wargames, discussions and logical evolution of the concept of warfare that is fully responsive to a wide range of emerging threats," Hussain said.

The exercise is also aimed at validating and refining tactics and operations, he said.

It will validate concepts formulated during the year of training initiated by army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, he added.

A special feature of the exercise will be the use of technological achievements and advancement in intelligence- gathering, surveillance, reconnaissance and communication.

These measures will reduce the reaction time of troops, Hussain said.