Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa Saturday said India should not take Pakistan’s hand of friendship as its weakness.
“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,” the COAS said while speaking at the passing out parade of 110th Midshipmen and 19th Short Service Course held at the Naval Academy Karachi. “It is time to fight hunger, disease and illiteracy, not to fight with each other,” he asserted.
Gen Bajwa said wars bring death, destruction and misery for the people. “Ultimately, all issues are resolved on the table through negotiations,” he said, adding that the relative peace present in the country today has been achieved after tremendous sacrifices. “It is now our duty to honour those sacrifices through display of unity, faith and discipline in everything that we do. Let us all start the transition from conflict to progress, through commitment to the ideals of Allama Iqbal and Quaid-e-Azam. This is the minimum that we can do for our beautiful country,” he said.
The army chief said that the country’s young cadets should take the country along the lines of developmental perspective rather than a security perspective. “Survival in the difficult times has given us the confidence that we have the will and capacity to endure. Nobody can threaten us or our freedom. It is time we fulfill our dreams and make Pakistan a great country,” he remarked.
The COAS reminded the cadets that the country is yet to get out from terrorism and an unannounced war. “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,” he added.
“The response to such onslaughts or threats cannot always be kinetic in nature. You will have 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,” he remarked.
Advising the future military leaders to prepare themselves for the threats they will face, Gen Bajwa added that they should be able to gauge the enemy’s latest moves and be ready to respond even when a ‘surgical strike’ exists only in the enemy’s imagination or when threats appear in cyberspace and not the traditional battlefield or threaten the ‘country’s ideological frontiers’.
Referring to hybrid warfare, the army chief stated that information and modern technology has changed the nature of warfare now being waged and has tilted the balance in favour of those nations that have embraced the change readily. “But frankly speaking, even that will not be sufficient as the ever increasing threat of hybrid war, to which we are subjected to, will need a totally new approach and change of traditional mindset.”
Addressing the parade, the army chief emphasised that “your behaviour must be exemplary at all times as one lapse may lead to embarrassment for the whole unit.” Speaking on leadership, he said the “armed forces are meant to lead.” “You will be required to lead your troops into the battlefield with full zeal and confidence,” he said, adding that their values will be echoed by those who follow.
He said learning is a continuous process and “this is just the beginning, so be mentally ready for much more rigorous training ahead.” “As defenders of Pakistan’s maritime frontiers, you are expected, not only to live up to its glorious traditions but also set much higher standards for your successors,” he added.
On the occasion, Gen Bajwa also reiterated that Pakistan is trying hard to achieve lasting peace in Afghanistan and lauded the government’s efforts of achieving peace between Pakistan and bordering India. He said Pakistan supports Afghan-led peace efforts to help bring lasting stability to the neighbouring state.
Earlier, the COAS reviewed the parade and gave away prizes to the distinguished performers. The prestigious ‘Quaid-e-Azam Gold Medal’ was conferred upon Lieutenant Haris Ali Khan PN. Midshipman Tauqeer Hussain was awarded the coveted ‘Sword of Honour’ for his overall best performance, whereas Midshipman Haroon Khan won the ‘Academy’s Dirk’.
Officer Cadet Talha Masood was awarded ‘Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee Gold Medal’, Officer Cadet Ahmed Mohammed Alamri from Kingdom of Saudi Arabia earned ‘Chief of the Naval Staff Gold Medal’ and Officer Cadet Ahmed Naveed Malik from SSC Course clinched the ‘Commandant Gold Medal’. ‘Proficiency Banner’ was re-claimed by the Forecastle Squadron.
Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Zafar Mahmood Abbasi, former naval chiefs, large number of serving and retired officers and families of passing out officers witnessed the parade.
Published in Daily Times, December 23rd 2018.
