Pakistan military officers to get training in Russia

ISLAMABAD – Pakistani military officers will receive training in Russian Federation military institutes under a recent agreement signed by Pakistan and Russia.

The deal underscores Pakistan’s increasing reliance on Russia for its military needs amid strained relations with the U.S. It was signed earlier this week during a visit by Russian Deputy Defence Minister Col. Gen. Alexander Fomin.

The deal comes as local media reported the U.S. has stopped financing military training in the U.S. for Pakistani soldiers – a step that Pakistani Sen. Mushahid Hussain called “wrong and counterproductive.”

Hussain, chairman of the Foreign Affairs committee, said the U.S. is repeating past mistakes through failed policy of trying to bully and browbeat Pakistan with such shortsighted sanctions.

Media have reported that 66 training slots for Pakistani military officers in U.S. facilities are being abolished.