Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa on Saturday said that Russia should immediately stop the invasion of Ukraine
“Despite Russia’s valid concerns its aggression of a smaller country cannot be condoned,” the army chief said while addressing the Islamabad Security Dialogue.
Terming the invasion a great tragedy, the COAS said the conflict was unfortunate which had led to half the country being destroyed, heavy casualties and a large population turning into refugees.
He further said that Pakistan has persistently called for an immediate ceasefire calling for a stop to the violence.
“We support dialogue between the parties to the conflict,” he said.
The army chief said Pakistan does not believe in camp politics and seeks to expand and broaden its ties with both China and the United States.
“Pakistan enjoys close and strategic cooperation with China demonstrated by our commitment to China Pakistan Economic Corridor project,” General Bajwa said.
He said Pakistan equally shares a long history of excellent and strategic relationship with the US which remains our largest export market.
The CCOAS said Pakistan continues to believe in using diplomacy and dialogue to resolve all outstanding issues with India including Kashmir dispute.
“Pakistan is ready to move forward on this front if India also agrees to do so,” he maintained.
Expressing deep concerns over the recent landing of an Indian supersonic cruise missile inside Pakistan territory, the army chief said this raises serious questions about India’s ability to manage and operate high-end weapon systems.
He said Pakistan has called for a thorough probe into the incident.
“We expect India to provide evidence to ensure Pakistan and the world community that their weapons are safe and secured,” he underscored.
Speaking about Afghanistan, the army chief said Pakistan continues to work closely with the international community to pursue peace and stability in Afghanistan.
“It is our collective responsibility towards the Afghan people to ensure timely and adequate humanitarian aid flows into the country”.
He warned that the consequences of the world community’s inability to address the humanitarian crisis will lead to refugee crisis and will again make Afghanistan an epicentre of terrorism.
General Qamar Bajwa reaffirmed Pakistan’s unwavering commitment to defeat terrorism.
“We have made remarkable gains against terrorism which have resulted in marked improvement in the internal security situation of Pakistan,” he said adding that however, the threat of terrorism and violent extremism remains and our struggle will continue till we eliminate the last terrorist and the cause of terrorism from the region.
