AMID PEACE OVERTURES, PAKISTAN ARMY CHIEF ASKS INDIA TO FIGHT AGAINST HUNGER

  Sunday, 23 December 2018

source: shiitenews

Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa asked India not to misunderstand new government’s peace overtures to her the as weakness and also called for fight against hunger, disease and illiteracy, then to fight against each other.
He lauded new Pakistan government’s viewpoint to resolve all issues with the neighbouring country on the table and saw in it new government’s utmost sincerity in taking the initiative for peace.
Addressing the passing-out parade of 110th Midshipmen and 19th Short Service Course at Naval Academy, the army chief spoke on issues related to the country’s defence and modern technology transforming the nature of warfare and warned that the “unannounced war against us” was yet to be over.
He said Pakistan is a peace-loving country and believes in peace within and peace without. “Wars bring death, destruction and misery for the people. Ultimately, all issues are resolved on the table through negotiations that is why we are trying very hard to help bring a lasting peace in Afghanistan by supporting Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace plan. Similarly, our new government has extended a hand of peace and friendship towards India with utmost sincerity but it should not be taken as our weakness. Peace benefits everybody. It is time to fight against hunger, disease and illiteracy, then to fight against each other.”
General Bajwa also narrated the armed forces’ sacrifices to restore peace to the country and warned the young naval personnel about the challenges ahead. “Please remember, we are yet to get out from terrorism or sabotage phase of an unannounced war against us that the subversion phase has also started,” he said. “Like the terrorists before, the protagonists of the new threats are, at times, our own people. Mostly misguided by ambitions, blinded by hate, ethnicity or religion or simply overawed by social media onslaught, some of our own boys and girls readily fall victim to such dangerous or hostile narratives.”
The response to such onslaughts or threats could not always be kinetic in nature, he said, suggesting the armed forces to deal with them in cognitive domain by producing or propagating a superior narrative. “But this can only happen if you have developed the ability to handle unwarranted criticism with patience and possess better intellectual skills to respond to such threats with logic and reasoning. You will be required to lead your troops, who rank amongst the finest in the world, into the battlefield with full zeal and confidence,” he said.