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The head of the Pakistani army, General Qamar Bajwa, is committed to "avenging" the death of troops on the border, an apparent reference to clashes with Indian forces on the line of control, even though that Prime Minister Imran Khan will fight the wars of others "in what appears to be a reference to a $ 300 million reduction in aid related to US security.
The leaders made the remarks at an event held at Rawalpindi headquarters on Thursday night to mark Defense Day, commemorated every year to commemorate the defense of Lahore by Pakistani forces during the war. against India.
Bajwa also raised the issue of Kashmir, paying tribute to "the brothers and sisters of occupied Kashmir, who write an unprecedented story of bravery and sacrifice."
Although he did not name any country, Bajwa apparently evoked clashes with Indian forces along the Kashmir line of control, while he wanted to assure the people that "the blood of the martyrs would not be overthrown in vain".
"The blood that has spread on the border, the blood spilled on the border, we will avenge this blood," he said, speaking in Urdu.
Khan's remarks during his speech at the same event appeared to be a response to US demand for "sustained and decisive" action against terrorists threatening regional peace. The request was made by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo during his talks with Pakistan's civilian and military leaders on Wednesday.
"I opposed the war on terror, I did not want Pakistan to participate in someone's war," said Khan in Urdu. "I promise today that Pakistan will not fight the war of someone else."
"Our job is to defend our citizens and we will have a foreign policy that will help improve the lot of Pakistanis," he said.
The remarks were made the same day by a joint statement issued by India and the United States after their two or two talks in New Delhi twice referred to Pakistan in the context of "cross-border terrorist attacks". The statement even referred to the 26/11 terrorist attacks in Bombay, raising hopes that the Trump administration would intervene to step up diplomatic pressure on the Indian neighbor to control terrorist groups.
Khan defended Pakistan's military and intelligence agencies, claiming that no one had done more to defeat terrorism in the country. The remarks were important in view of the US persistent criticism of the Pakistan army's inability to contain terrorist groups such as the Taliban and Lashkar-e-Taiba operating from its ground.
He insisted that there was no civil-military division in Pakistan. Khan described the military as "the only merit-oriented organization in Pakistan" and said he wanted to "bring meritocracy" to all institutions so that other state organs could be disciplined and established like the armed forces.
Meanwhile, Pakistani Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry said the civilian and military leaders were eager to engage with India in promoting regional peace, but the new government has not received a positive response from New Delhi.
Chaudhry told BBC Urdu that Prime Minister Khan had given India several indications for having held talks, but that there was no "positive answer". He noted that Khan had said in his first speech after his electoral victory that if India took a step for peace, Pakistan would take two.
To the question of how the new government's policy vis-à-vis India would be different from that of the previous administration, Chaudhry said the biggest difference was that all state institutions were on the same length wave.
Both Khan and Bajwa believe that no country can develop alone and it is important for the region to develop, said Chaudhry. "And both think that if there is no peace in the region, then everyone will be left behind," he added.
After Khan's electoral success, Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated him by phone. According to reports, Modi hoped that "Pakistan and India would work to open a new chapter in bilateral relations". Khan, for his part, thanked Modi for his wishes and pointed out that disputes should be resolved through dialogue.
First published: 07 Sep. 2018 19:58 IST
