The United States and Pakistan have launched the 13th round of their joint counterterrorism exercise, Inspired Gambit 2026, highlighting continued military engagement between the two countries amid shifting regional security dynamics.
The Armed Forces’ media wing, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), stated on Saturday that “the two-week exercise, which began on Jan. 9, is being held at Pakistan’s National Counter Terrorism Center in Pabbi, northwest Pakistan, and brings together professional contingents from the US Army and the Pakistan Army.”
Senior military officials from both sides attended the opening ceremony, according to Pakistan’s military media wing.
Drills focus on improving interoperability and operational coordination by exchanging counterterrorism experience while refining the tactics, techniques, and procedures needed for complex security operations. Training includes urban warfare scenarios, with an emphasis on marksmanship, as well as familiarization with each other’s operational doctrines and best practices, the statement continued.
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Pakistan’s military said the latest iteration of “Inspired Gambit” reflects a shared commitment by Washington and Islamabad to collaborative efforts to strengthen counterterrorism capabilities and promote regional security.
Joint exercises such as Inspired Gambit 2026 remain a core element of US-Pakistan defense cooperation, particularly as both countries continue to confront evolving terrorist threats in South Asia. US officials have repeatedly emphasized the importance of regional partners in counterterrorism efforts, especially in Afghanistan, to promote broader regional stability.
While the US-Pakistan relationship has experienced periods of tension in recent years, defense and counterterrorism cooperation have remained durable pillars of engagement. Both sides have sought to maintain structured military-to-military contacts even as broader political ties have fluctuated.
Meanwhile, the Pakistani military also said on Saturday that security forces killed 11 Taliban members in separate operations in the country’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, bordering Afghanistan.
An intelligence-based operation in North Waziristan, bordering Afghanistan, killed six operatives, according to ISPR.
In a separate joint operation in Kurram district, police and security forces killed five more Pakistani Taliban fighters during a gun battle. The ISPR said weapons and ammunition were recovered from the gunmen, whom it described as Indian-sponsored and involved in multiple terrorist activities.
Pakistan has faced, in recent years, a renewed rise of terrorist groups, with organizations such as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan carrying out repeated attacks on security force convoys, police stations, and checkpoints, as well as kidnapping government officials in the region.