Army chief offers dialogue to India

—Gen Bajwa says Pakistan remains committed to peace talks ‘but only on basis of sovereign equality, dignity and honour’

–Reiterates support to Kashmiris in their struggle to achieve self-determination

–Says Pakistan fully committed to peace and reconciliation efforts in Afghanistan

— Says Pakistan’s enemies have subjected it to a cruel, evil and protracted hybrid war

KAKUL: Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa said on Saturday that the peaceful resolution of disputes between Pakistan and India, including the core issue of Kashmir, can only be achieved through a comprehensive and meaningful dialogue.

“A dialogue is the only route to establish peace in the region. Pakistan remains committed to such a dialogue, but only on the basis of sovereign equality, dignity and honour,” he said while addressing the passing out parade of the 137th Pakistan Military Academy (PMA) Long Course, 8th Mujahid Course and 56th Integrated Course here at PMA, Kakul.

The army chief said that Pakistan was a peace-loving country and it sought a harmonious and peaceful co-existence with all countries, especially its neighbours. “However, this desire for peace must not, in any sense, be construed as a sign of weakness. Our valiant armed forces are fully prepared to respond to all kinds of threats in a befitting manner,” he said.

“I also take this opportunity to express our complete political and moral support to the basic right of self-determination for the people of Jammu and Kashmir. The peace-loving innocent citizens of occupied Kashmir are being subjected to one of the worst forms of state terrorism by India,” he said.

He further said that it was high time for the world community to wake up and play its role to find a peaceful resolution to the Kashmir conflict.

He said Pakistan had also committed to peace and intra-Afghan reconciliation efforts in Afghanistan at all bilateral and multilateral forums. “We sincerely believe that there would be no peace in Pakistan, if there is no peace in Afghanistan. Therefore, we must work in unison with our Afghan brothers to achieve this goal,” he added.

“Moreover, we have done our part to cleanse Pakistan of the scourge of terrorism and extremism without any distinction and our efforts have started to bear results. We are committed to continue these efforts, not out of any compulsion, but to make Pakistan a safe, prosperous and progressive country,” he added.

‘NO ROOM FOR EXTREMISM’

Further, General Bajwa said that Pakistan had totally rejected extremism and terrorism. “We also refuse to be pulled asunder by sectarian and ethnic issues,” he said.

He said that the diversity of Pakistan was its strength, adding, “The very resilience of Pakistan comes, not just from our military capacity, but from the synergetic mix of people who have come together willingly towards a single purpose.”

He also said that Pakistan’s enemies knew that they could not beat it fair and square and had thus subjected it to a cruel, evil and protracted hybrid war. “They are trying to weaken our resolve by weakening us from within. Had it been any nation other than ours, it would have disintegrated by now. But since we enjoy complete confidence and support of the population, we have defeated every move of these inimical forces and would continue to do so,” he added.

Moreover, the army chief reiterated that the Pakistani nation and its armed forces were totally united and focused towards their primary objective of eradication and elimination of terrorism. He said that as a result of past and ongoing operations Pakistan had eliminated almost all organised terrorist groups and infrastructure from its soil. “We are now going after the residual and scattered traces of this menace under the banner of Operation Radd-ul-Fasaad,” he added.

He said that Operation Radd-ul-Fasaad was not merely an operation but it was a concept, a resolve and a commitment of the nation to eradicate terrorism from its soil. “Operation Radd-ul-Fasaad is guided by our collective resolve and belief that we would continue our fight until the last terrorist was eliminated from Pakistan. “We would not allow our soil to be used against any other country,” he added.