Nepal: Joint exercise of armies of 19 countries including India, Pakistan continues. Loktej World News

Kathmandu, 22 February (HS). Joint military exercise of soldiers of 19 countries is going on in Nepal on behalf of Nepali Army and United Nations. Soldiers from India and Pakistan are also involved in this 15-day long military exercise.

This military exercise, which started from February 20 at the Nepali Army’s Virendra Shanti Sainik Training Center located at Panchkhal, will continue till March 4. This includes soldiers from India, Pakistan, America, Australia, Canada, Sri Lanka, Nepal, apart from Bangladesh, Fiji, Ghana, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mongolia, Thailand, Uruguay, Nigeria, Philippines, South Korea and Vietnam. This is the fourth joint military exercise of the UN Peace Keeping Force. Earlier such military exercises had taken place in the years 2002, 2013 and 2017.

Nepali Army has informed that this military exercise will be conducted for the soldiers of the countries joining the UN Peace Keeping Force. Military spokesperson Brigadier General Krishna Prasad Bhandari said that this joint military exercise is being organized with the help of the Global Peace Operation of the US Government in coordination with the UN. Information has been given that 1125 soldiers from 19 countries are participating in it.

This is the first time after the closure of political and diplomatic dialogue between India and Pakistan that soldiers of both the countries are participating in a joint military exercise like this. At present, the Nepalese Army has the largest number of soldiers in the UN Peace Keeping Force. The Commander-in-Chief of the Nepalese Army had said in the inauguration of this military exercise that if necessary, the Nepalese Army can send 10 thousand soldiers from its place to the UN mission.