RAWALPINDI    -   Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa has said that shooting skill is the hallmark of a profes­sional soldier and at­taining proficiency at shooting must remain at the heart of basic mil­itary training objectives.

According to a press release issued by the ISPR Directorate here yesterday, the COAS at­tended closing ceremo­ny of the 42nd Pakistan Army Rifle Association (PARA) Central Meet at Jhelum Garrison as chief guest yesterday.

The Army Chief ap­preciated the firers for their excellent stan­dards of marksmanship. 

The mega shooting event was conducted at Army Marksmanship Unit from 22 August to 10 October 2022. Over 

 2000 firers from Army, Navy, Air Force, Civ­il Armed Forces (CAFs) including Rangers (Sind, Punjab), Frontier Corps and GB Scouts as well as civilians participated in the competition that comprised numerous events involving differ­ent ranges and types of weapons.

Air Chief Marshal Za­heer Ahmed Babar Sid­hu, Chief of Air Staff (CAF), was present as a Guest of Honour who gave away the prizes.

In Inter Formation Competition, Mang­la Corps came first fol­lowed by Bahawalpur Corps. In Civil Armed Forces (CAF) category, trophy was won by Pun­jab Rangers while Gilgit Baltistan Scouts received runners up trophy. In In­ter Services Matches, Pa­kistan Army won three out of four contests in­cluding COAS, Chief of Air Staff (CAS) and Chief of Naval Staff (CNS) Matches, while Pak Navy won CISM Match. Pak Navy remained run­ners up in COAS and CNS Matches while PAF came second in CAS Match. 

Pakistan Army won Shotgun, Long Range and Small Bore Trophies in Open National Match­es. Pakistan Navy won the Prime Minister ‘Skills at Arms’ Big Bore Na­tional Challenge Match while Pakistan Army se­cured second position.

The Biggest Military Shooting Honour ‘The Master at Arms’ Trophy along with Gold Med­al of ‘National Rifle As­sociation of United King­dom(UK)’ was awarded to Lance Naik Syed Mansoor Ali Shah of 112 Wing Gil­git Baltistan Scouts. The President’s Cup Nation­al Challenge Match Tro­phy was awarded to Maj Ahmad Jehanzeb of Army Marksmanship Unit. The Prime Minister ‘Skills at Arms’ Small Bore Nation­al Challenge Match was won by Pakistan Army. The ‘Best Shot Match Trophy’ was awarded to Lance Naik Allah Ditta of 165 Field Regiment Ar­tillery. Two new National Records were also made during the national lev­el matches. Major Gener­al Ahsan Gulrez, Director General Military Train­ing (DGMT) participat­ed and made a new PARA National Record by scor­ing 150/ 150 points with 8 shots Bull Hit in finals of 800 Yds Rifle Match whereas Lieutenant Col­onel Junaid Ali Zulfiqar made New National Qualification Record by scoring 150/ 150 points with 12 shots Bull Hit in 800 Yards Rifle Match. Eleven participants and faculty members of First Sniper course of Pakistan Army Snip­er School (PASS) were also awarded prizes and Sniper insignias.

Later, the COAS visited Jari Kas Cantt, near Mir­pur AJ& K. He also inau­gurated APS Jari Kas and interacted with students. Later, the Army Chief ad­dressed officers and men at Jari Kas Cantt.