Shooting is soldiers’ defining characteristic: army chief

GUJAR KHAN: Chief of Army Staff General Syed Asim Munir said on Thursday that shooting is a defining characteristic of a professional soldier and it must remain at the heart of military training.

According to the ISPR, the army chief was speaking at the closing ceremony of the 44th Pakistan Army Rifle Association central meet, which took place at the Army Marksmanship Unit in Jhelum on Thursday.

The ISPR said the shooting competition took place from Oct 14 to Nov 28 during the central meet where more than 2,000 shooters from various branches of military, including army, navy, air force and Rangers from Sindh and Punjab, took part.

Gen Asim Munir and Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmed Baber Sidhu distributed trophies and medals among winners and runners-up.

Pakistan Army emerged victorious in three inter-services matches, while Pakistan Air Force won the CAS match. Pakistan Army clinched the overall Championship Trophy. Pakistan Army also secured victory in the FTR team trophy.

The President’s Cup National Challenge match trophy was awarded to Naik Waseem Ahmed Khan who represented Pakistan Army.

Pakistan Air Force won the Prime Minister Skills at Arms Big Bore National Challenge. The Azad Kashmir Regiment won the first prize in the para-firing matches for the infantry squad.

Sepoy Aftab Ahmed of the Punjab Regiment was awarded the prestigious ‘The Master at Arms’ Trophy, recognising him as the highest achiever in military shooting.

‘The Best Shot Match Trophy’ was awarded to Lance Dafadar Muhammad Imran of Cavalry and Havaldar Fateh Ullah Khan of EME Battalion for Groups 2 and 3, respectively. The army chief commended the shooters for their outstanding standards of marksmanship.

Published in Dawn, November 29th, 2024