By Agha Iqrar Haroon
Rawalpindi, Pakistan: “Army collapses like sand-wall if not backed by the Nation and we have seen this in our neighborhood”.
This was said by Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa while Defence and Martyrs’ Day ceremony at the General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi on Monday. He was referring to the collapse of the Afghan National Army (ANA) has said that the strength of any country’s armed forces is dependent on the nation’s support.
In his multidimensional and thoughtful speech, he covered important nation-building approaches from population control and working collectively for the better future of the region.
Lauding the families of Martyrs who gave their lives for the future of the motherland, he said nobody on earth can harm Pakistan because it is the land where mothers offer their other son for sacrifice while saying goodbye to their first martyred son.
“Martyrs sacrifices will not go in vain and welfare of their families is the responsibility of the armed forces,” he added.
He reminded the leadership of the region that the 21st century needs a policy of geo-economics instead of geo-politics for the prosperity and welfare of the people of the region.
He was of the view that education, health, infrastructure development, and climate change should be a collective priority of the region.
While referring to the Afghanistan situation, he maintained that the military is (was) closely monitoring the situation in the region. “While there is an opportunity of peace in Afghanistan, the situation can also lead to new challenges and threats.”
“In addition to this, we also expect that the world community will not abandon the Afghan people and will not let any humanitarian crisis take place in the country,” said COAS.
“Pakistan’s enemies want to achieve their nefarious designs through propaganda… we are aware of the tactics and conspiracies of the external enemies but we have to deal with an iron fist with internal elements spreading chaos in the country.”
The COAS was of the view that the security and stability of the country is (was) linked to democracy.
