India, Pakistan put aside tensions to participate in Russia-led military drill

Four months after the armies of India and Pakistan clashed during Operation Sindoor, the two countries will participate in a multinational exercise in Russia. Russia is hosting the multinational exercise, called ZAPAD, which includes 20 countries, including India, Pakistan, and China. A 70-member team from India is scheduled to depart by Monday.

The exercise, which started on September 1, will run until September 17, with the Indian contingent joining midway. Typically, countries participating in such exercises are divided into different groups, with China and Pakistan in one group and India in another.

India has participated in Russia-hosted exercises in the past, and this participation comes just four months after the skirmish with Pakistan (May 7-10). India’s participation in the Russian-hosted military exercise is also seen as a balancing act, as New Delhi’s military has joined a US-led grouping conducting a multinational exercise.

Last week, a 700-strong contingent from India joined the multinational exercise Bright Star in Egypt, which is being organised jointly by the Egyptian forces and the US Central Command. The exercise, which started in 1980 as a bilateral exercise between Egypt and America, has now turned into a multinational exercise and is the largest tri-services exercise in the Middle East region.

The Bright Star exercise is currently in its 19th edition and ran from August 20 to September 10.