Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa on Monday attended the closing ceremony of the 42nd Pakistan Army Rifle Association (PARA) Central Meet at Jhelum Garrison as the chief guest where two new national records were set during the shooting competitions. The mega shooting event was conducted at Army Marksmanship Unit from August 22 to October 10. Over 2,000 firers from army, navy, air force, civil armed forces (CAFs), including Rangers (Sindh, 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, an Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) news release said. Chief of the Air Staff (CAS) Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmed Babar Sidhu was present as the guest of honour, who gave away prizes to winning participants. In the Inter-Formation competition, Mangla Corps stood first followed by Bahawalpur Corps. In Civil Armed Forces (CAF) category, the trophy was won by Punjab Rangers while GB Scouts remained runners up. In Inter-Services matches, the 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 stood second in CAS Match. The Pakistan Army won Shotgun, Long Range and Small Bore Trophies in open national matches. The Pakistan Navy won the Prime Minister ‘Skills at Arms’ Big Bore National Challenge match, while the Pakistan Army secured the second position. The Biggest Military Shooting Honour ‘The Master at Arms’ Trophy along with a 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 Major 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 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 Yards 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 the Pakistan Army Sniper School (PASS) were also awarded prizes and sniper insignias.
