RAWALPINDI: Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa attended closing ceremony of the 41st Pakistan Army Rifle Association (PARA) central meet at Jhelum Garrison as the chief guest, according to an ISPR release, issued on Thursday.

The shooting event was conducted at Army Marksmanship Unit from Oct 26 to Dec 1, 2021. Over 2,500 firers from the army, navy, air force, civil armed forces (CAFs) including rangers, frontier corps and airport security force as well as civilians participated in the competition that comprised numerous events involving different ranges and types ofweapons. The COAS awarded trophies and medals to the winners and runners-up in each shooting category.

While interacting with the participants, the COAS appreciated the firers over their excellent standards of marksmanship. Terming shooting skill hallmark of a professional soldier, the COAS said attaining proficiency at shooting must remain at the heart of basic military training objectives.

In inter formations competition, the Multan Corps secured the first position, followed by Mangla Corps. In CAFs category, trophy was won by the Punjab Rangers while Gilgit-Baltistan Scouts remained runners-up.

In inter services matches, Pakistan Army won all the four contests including COAS, Chief of Air Staff (CAS) and Chief of Naval Staff (CNS) matches. The PAF remained runners-up in the COAS and CAS matches, while Pakistan Navy came second in the CNS match.

The Pakistan Army won shotgun, long range and small bore trophies in open national matches. The Pakistan Army also won the prime minister ‘Skills at arms’ big bore national challenge, while Pakistan Navy secured the second position. The biggest military shooting honour, ‘The master at arms trophy’ was awarded to Lance Havaldar Arshad Siddique of 12 Punjab Regiment.

The president’s cup national challenge match trophy was awarded to Havaldar Jaffar Hussain of Army Marksmanship Unit. The prime minister 'Skills at arms' big bore national challenge match was won by the Pakistan Army. The 'Best shot match trophy' was awarded to Lance Dafadar Zulfiqar Khan.