ISLAMABAD, April 28: Around 500 special forces personnel from Pakistan, United States and Afghanistan would be participating in the joint military exercises planned for next month.

The exercises codenamed ‘Inspired Gambit-06’ will be conducted around the Attock District area and begin in the first half of May, defence sources told Dawn. The duration of the exercises will be about two weeks during which gunship and air assault helicopters would be used.

“The exercises are aimed at training the Special Forces in air assault action and developing mutual understanding,” Pakistan military spokesperson Major-Gen Shaukat Sultan said.

Talking to this correspondent he said light but most modern and sophisticated military equipment would be used for these exercises, underlining that the basic objective of these exercises was to benefit from each others’ experience and expertise.

While Pakistan has already conducted similar exercises with the US, it would be for the first time that it will be doing so with the Afghan forces which is seen as a positive development.

It is believed that the upcoming joint military exercises would help improve coordination and communication between the forces of the three countries engaged in combat operations in the ongoing fight against militants along the troubled Pakistan-Afghanistan border areas.

Pakistan-Afghanistan relations have been through a bad patch recently with both sides trading allegations of cross-border infiltration of militants and accusing the other of not doing enough about it.

The decision to hold the joint military exercises was taken at the 16th meeting of the Tripartite Commission held in Rawalpindi earlier this month.

The Commission comprising senior military and diplomatic representatives from Afghanistan, Pakistan and the United States is meant to address border security issues.

Pakistan has in the recent past also conducted such joint military exercises with China, Turkey and the UK.