RAWALPINDI: The military on Friday declared that Pakistani Armed Forces are always ready to defend the motherland and are well aware of their responsibilities, clarifying that former army chief Gen (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa’s statement on “combat worthiness” was “quoted out of the context”.
The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) statement came following discussions in the media on “Pakistan Army’s combat worthiness in view of the condition of certain weapon systems on its inventory”.
“To this end, views of former army chief on the future threat to Pakistan, which he shared with media persons in an off-the-record interactive session, have been quoted out of the context,” said the ISPR.
The military’s media wing assured the people that the army will always take pride in its “operational preparedness and utmost combat worthiness”.
“Pakistan’s Armed Forces always did and will continue to keep their weapons, equipment and battle-hardened human resource ever ready for the defense of the motherland,” said the ISPR.
Earlier this month, journalist and anchorperson Hamid Mir had made the disclosure in a televised program that Gen (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa had reportedly said in a meeting with 20-25 journalists that Pakistan was not prepared to engage in a war with India. Indian media outlets subsequently reported on Mir’s statement.
