- Vows to restore peace in Balochistan at all costs
ISLAMABAD, January 5: Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa rejected the claims made by Indian army chief that India carried out “surgical strikes” on Pakistan, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) spokesperson tweeted on Thursday.
ISPR chief Major Gen Asif Ghafoor tweeted that Gen Bajwa rejected the claim of India’s Army Chief General Bipin Rawat, who had said in a recent interview that the ‘so-called surgical strikes’ were meant to “send out a message”
“Pakistan’s armed forces are fully geared to respond to any aggression by India,” Ghafoor quoted Bajwa as saying. The army chief also turned down the possibility of re-occurrence of any such attack, which the Indian army chief had hinted.
India’s new army chief, Gen Bipin Rawat, had said the role of the force was to maintain peace and tranquillity at the border but it would not “shy away from flexing its muscles”.
Recalling the controversial ‘surgical strike’, the India’s army chief said that the surgical strikes of September 29 were very “well planned.”
“Extensive preparation was carried out and then it was executed,” Rawat was quoted as saying.
Earlier in the day, while addressing a gathering in Khuzdar, Gen Bajwa praised the people of Balochistan for assisting the law enforcement agencies (LEA) in maintaining the law and order situation in the province
The collaborative approach has helped distribute the demands of national security put forth by China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), he said.
The army chief was addressing a day-long national seminar titled, “Economic Development through new Silk Route via Khuzdar: Way forward to national integration”.
Moving forward, Bajwa proposed that a “people-centric approach based on local ownership” should be adopted as far as securing the “ongoing developmental activity and future trade” in Balochistan under CPEC is concerned.
The “result” of the alliance has been “positive” and is “in front of everyone”, he added.
Gen Bajwa further stated that one of the key aims of the army’s effort is “national integration”.
“Balochistan unfortunately had been neglected in the past for host of reasons, but not anymore. The military has contributed significantly to bring Balochistan into the main stream,” Bajwa said, adding more than 20,000 men from Balochistan are currently serving the army.
But the army’s effort has been “more diverse than its security role” in the province, the army chief said, elaborating that some 25,000 students are enrolled in various army-run educational institutions in Balochistan.
At the occasion, the army chief announced that National University of Sciences and Technology campus will be established in Balochistan. A Chinese language centre as well as a National University of Modern Languages campus will also be established in the province.-Agencies
