Army Chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa said on Monday that Pakistan’s soldiers had all required capabilities to fight all external and internal threats, and traditional and non-traditional wars.
“If any enemy wants to fight us, it’ll find us ready at every moment and on every front,” he said while addressing a Defence Day ceremony held at the overall Headquarters.
He noted that Pakistani soldiers were counted among the world’s best. “We have fought every enemy courageously and defeated all external and internal plots and in particular , by achieving self-sustainability in defence capabilities, made the country’s defence impenetrable,” he said.
“We haven’t any doubt that the connection between Pakistan Army and therefore the nation is that the strong shield that has always defeated the enemy’s plots and black-handed tactics against Pakistan and this unity has always made us persevere.”
Whether it had been the wars of 1965 and 1971, the Kargil fight or the war against terrorism, Pakistan’s soldiers have proven in every situation that “we skills to defend our country in any condition and are able to pay any price,” Gen Bajwa said.
He paid tribute to the martyrs and their families, saying the whole nation was indebted to them.
“I assure you that the sacrifices of your loved ones will never be forgotten or wasted,” he told the families.
Highlighting the importance of public support in military operations, the chief of army staff said without the people’s cooperation, any army would convince be a wall of sand “like we saw in our neighbouring country”.
“This is why the army’s success depends to an outsized extent on the people’s support,” he added.
‘Some people getting used by anti-state elements’
Gen Bajwa emphasised the changing nature of warfare, saying rather than large-scale war, modern technology and ways of communication and other tools were wont to weaken a nation’s unity and ideological boundaries, spread chaos in several sectors and demoralise the people.
“Our enemies also are using non-traditional means including propaganda and disinformation to realize their nefarious objectives,” he noted.
But while the state is conscious of the plots of external enemies, “we will need to deal strictly with some internal elements spreading chaos,” Gen Bajwa said.
“It may be a moment of reflection for all folks that some people are getting used by anti-state elements. this is often called hybrid or fifth-generation war [in common language]. Its purpose is to form Pakistan’s roots hollow and damage the country’s unity. InshAllah, we’ll never let these negative objectives succeed.”
In such a “difficult and complex” situation, he said, there was a requirement to further strengthen the connection of mutual trust, love and fraternity between the Pakistan soldiers and therefore the nation.
Gen Bajwa stressed that everybody should remember of the truth that “there is not any more room for any quite extremism or violence on this land,” which no individual or group apart from the soldiers and law-enforcement agencies would be allowed to display weapons or use them.
Moreover, “no individual or group are going to be allowed to blackmail the state on the idea of area, ethnicity, ideology or religion,” he said.
The army chief called upon the state to figure to form Pakistan “progressive, peaceful and a contemporary Islamic and welfare state”.
“Pakistan’s strength and preservation are in democracy. to form it more stable, we’ll need to follow the principles of following the Constitution, justice, tolerance and equality,” he said, adding that “negative attitudes like criticism for the sake of criticism, hatred and intolerance” should be discouraged.
“If Pakistan has got to progress, we’ll need to bury our ego and self-interest. […] And consistent with [former] US president John F. Kennedy, ‘Do not ask what the country can do for you, ask what you’ll do for the country.'”
Considering the requirements of the 21st century, Gen Bajwa said, “We should work along the lines of people’s progress and happiness, regional cooperation and acquiring modern technology rather than the negative traditional geopolitical thought against one another .”
“I believe that education, health, infrastructure development, social control and global climate change should be our priorities,” he added.
‘Expect an inclusive govt in Afghanistan’
On regional situation, the military chief said the soldiers were keeping a keen eye on developments in Afghanistan, where he said things provided a chance to determine peace and stability but at an equivalent time it could also convince be a sign of further difficulties and threats.
“We are desirous of the protection and progress of our Afghan neighbours and expect that the large powers of the region and therefore the world, including the UN, will play a positive role for establishing peace in Afghanistan,” he emphasised.
Expressing solidarity with the war-weary people of Afghanistan, Gen Bajwa said Pakistan’s desire was to ascertain the Afghan leadership “settle everything through discussion” and supply peace and happiness for his or her people.
“We also expect a stable and inclusive government to be formed in Afghanistan, human rights including women rights respected, [and] Afghan land to not be used against [any country],” he added, saying Pakistan also expected that the planet wouldn’t leave the Afghan nation alone during this difficult time.
While talking about the eastern border, the military chief noted that “many critical moments” had come especially after 2019, “but Pakistan while showing patience and tolerance proved to be a responsible and peaceful state”.
But he stressed that Pakistan’s “desire for peace shouldn’t be mistaken for our weakness. we’ve the potential to offer a befitting answer to any aggression”.
“I want to form it clear that Kashmir features a central importance to relations between Pakistan and India,” he added.
Gen Bajwa said Pakistan rejected all of India’s unilateral and illegal steps taken in Kashmir on August 5, 2019, and paid tribute to “the spirit of Hurriyat of Kashmiris, the sacrifices of martyrs and particularly Syed Ali Geelani’s long and great struggle”.
While concluding his speech, the military chief again paid tribute to officers and martyrs of Pakistan soldiers , intelligence agencies, law-enforcement agencies, and their families. “No power can defeat this nation whose mothers raise their sons to sacrifice their lives for the honour of their country,” Gen Bajwa said.
