1,671 Pakistani soldiers deputed in Saudi Arabia, NA told

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has deployed as many as 1,671 armed forces personnel in Saudi Arabia, followed by 629 in Qatar and 66 in the UAE, Minister for Defence Khurram Dastgir Khan informed the National Assembly.

In his written reply to the Lower House on Monday, the minister said 912 personnel are deployed under Saudi Ministry of Defence while 759 are under the Ministry of Interior of the kingdom.

In breakdown of the stats, 742 of the 912 personnel belong to the army, 108 from Navy and 62 from the Air Force. The Pakistani forces serving under the Saudi Ministry of Interior comprised 653 from military, 56 from navy and 50 from the air force.

Besides, the Pakistani forces are also serving in seven other countries, the minister said in his reply.

After Saudi Arabia , the second largest number of Pakistan armed forces’ personnel is deployed in Qatar.

Of total 629 in Qatar, 155 are from the army, 433 navy and 107 air force.

While according to statistics shared by the minister, only one army soldier is deployed in Australia.

There is one army person in Australia, 15 in Bahrain, four in Brunei and six in Jordan.

These personnel are on deputation under various memoranda of understanding and agreements with the respective countries. The defence minister clarified that no financial cost was borne by Pakistan on account of the deputations.

Meanwhile, a total of 6,118 Pakistani troops had been deployed on the United Nation missions.

In December 2013, a total of 7,684 troops were deployed in UN missions. From 2014, 2015 and 2016, the total number of troops deployed abroad was 7490, 7389 and 6893 respectively.

The highest number of Pakistani troops are deployed in Congo, where 3491 personnel are serving currently. The second destination is the Central African Republic where 1,139 Pakistanis are serving.