SWAT/KARACHI/ISLAMABAD: Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Bajwa on Wednesday opened Army Public School and College at Kanju Garrison, Swat Cantonment.
According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the state-of-the-art infrastructure has a capacity for 3,600 students, computer and science labs, auditorium and a sports stadium.
It is a gift from the Pakistan Army for the resilient people of Swat in recognition of their contributions and sacrifices in defeating terrorism, the military’s wing said in a statement.
Interacting with students, faculty, local elders and administration, Gen Bajwa said there was no better approach towards enduring peace and stability than providing quality education to the youth.
Local elders thanked the COAS for establishment of Swat Cantt and APS&C for them, the ISPR added.
Former army Chief General Raheel Sharif had laid the foundation stone of Swat cantonment. President Mamnoon Hussain approved in September 2015 the plan to establish a cantonment in the valley, which was cleared of militants in 2009.
Separately, ground breaking ceremony of the new building for 3rd Force Protection Battalion of Pakistan Navy was held in Gwadar.
Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Muhammad Zakaullah was the chief guest. Upon his arrival he was received by Commander Coast Rear Admiral Abdul Aleem.
The 3rd Force Protection Battalion is an operational segment of Pak Marines and was raised in March 2013 for protection of Gwadar Port as well as offshore infrastructure including sensitive installations in the city and at coastal belt. The Battalion is capable of conducting Anti Amphibious Operations, Humanitarian Assistance & Disaster Relief Operations in its Area of Responsibility.
In addition to 3rd FP Battalion, Pakistan Navy has also raised the Task Force 88 in December 2016 for seaward security of Gwadar Port and the approaches. The viability and assured dividends of CPEC related projects are intrinsically linked with the security of maritime domain. In this regard, ensuring maritime security remains an important responsibility of Pakistan Navy which is set to grow in the coming years. Accordingly, Pakistan Navy is gearing up to meet this challenge.
Speaking on the occasion, chief of the naval staff said that the importance in terms of security of entire coast in general and Gwadar Port in particular has been increased manifold due to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project.
He reaffirmed commitment of Pakistan Navy to provide infallible security to the vital PN assets and installations along the western coast and as well as maritime components of CPEC.
Meanwhile, Air Chief Marshal Sohail Aman, chief of the air staff, Pakistan Air Force called on Major General Abdusalom Azizov, Minister of Defence and A Burhanov, Deputy Minister of Defence and Commander Air Defence and Air Force of Uzbekistan at Ministry of Defence in Tashkent.
During the meetings, matters of mutual interest and regional issues including security situation in Afghanistan and its fall out on neighbouring countries were discussed. Uzbek leadership lauded PAF’s pivotal role in fighting the war against terrorism and expressed their desire to learn from PAF experiences and showed keen interest in indigenization process of PAF. CAS offered various capacity building measures for Uzbekistan Air Force.
He also offered military and flying training to their personnel at various PAF training institutions along with collaboration in aviation field for research and development. The Air Chief also extended invitation to his counterpart to visit various PAF facilities in Pakistan.
Published in Daily Times, September 28th 2017.
