Contradicting Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s diplomatic position, its Army Chief General Qamar Jawed Bajwa on Thursday asked his troops to “avenge the blood of its soldiers being shed on the border.”
“Our troops have made great sacrifices to the nation. I laud the people of Kashmir who have stood firm in such testing times. Our nation will not forget our troops who laid down their lives for this nation. We will avenge the blood of our soldiers being shed on the border,” Bajwa said while addressing the Defence Day function. He added that Pakistan had learned a lot from the 1965 and 1971 wars and developed its defence system.
Bajwa’s latest statement is in contradiction with his own government’s diplomatic position. Speaking at the same event, Khan reiterated his goal of achieving peace and said that the country would not fight anyone else’s war and his government’s main aim is to work for the welfare of the people.
“For the past three weeks, I have been seeing presentations on all the problems that this country is facing, and I can tell you this that we will become a nation and rise again. We can overcome these problems once we strengthen the rule of law in this country,” Khan was quoted by The Dawn as saying.
Khan, in his previous speeches, has maintained that he wanted to have good relations with the neighbouring countries, including India. The Pakistani government has also been indicating towards resumption of bilateral dialogue with India, for which New Delhi has made clear that it first wants a conducive atmosphere that is free from terrorism.
In his first speech after the July 25 general elections, the cricketer-turned-politician had said that he would like to have good relations with India and work to resolve all outstanding issues through dialogue. Mentioning Kashmir as the core issue of dispute between the two nations, Khan said that it was time the two countries sat across the table and discussed the issues of concern.
“We should sit across and resolve the issues instead of we blaming India for problems in Balochistan and they blame us for problems in Kashmir. I can say that if you (India) will take one step forward, we will take two steps forward. The relationship between the two countries has been one-sided so far and Pakistan has been blamed for all sorts of terrorism in the world. We want friendship with India and want to resolve all issues through dialogue,” Khan had asserted.
