Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Bajwa on Wednesday said that the East Pakistan debacle was a political failure not a military one and the nation must also remember the martyrs of the 1971 war.
In his last defence Day speech as Army chief, General Bajwa said during the 1971 war, 34000 Pakistani soldiers bravely confronted more than four hundred thousand troops of the enemy in East Pakistan so the nation must not forget their sacrifices.
“A nation that forgets its martyrs, disappears from the annals of history,” said COAS Bajwa.
TARGETED BY ‘FALSE NARRATIVE’
Army Chief General Bajwa was of the view that the army was targeted recently by some political forces with a “false and made-up narrative” and the institution, despite being in the capacity to respond to it by all manner, stayed calm but “patience has a limit”
He said that he often wondered why the Indian army, the one that did the most human rights violations in the world has not become a “target of criticism by its people”.
“I came to the conclusion that it is because of the army’s involvement in politics. So, in February last year, the institution decided that it will no longer interfere in politics,” said the COAS.
He added that the decision (not interfering in politics) was also criticized by some unscrupulous elements.
“Everyone has the right to criticism, but the language (used) should be careful,” added the COAS.
COAS General Bajwa said that leaving the mistakes of the past behind, the army has decided to move forward and will urge the political forces to do the same in the larger national interest.
“People come and go but Pakistan is there to stay,” said the army chief.
‘SELECTED OR IMPORTED’
The COAS lamented what he termed ‘intolerance’ in the country’s political culture and said that after the 2018 General Elections, a political government was termed ‘selected’ by some over an RTS issue while in April, a government that lost the confidence vote termed its successor “imported”.
COAS also said that Army involved in Politics for the last 70 years, Now we will stay Away.
Remember that it is the last address of COAS Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa of his Six years Tenure as he is going to retire on 29th November 2022. Already a summary of six senior Generals has been sent to PM Shehbaz Sharif and an announcement regarding the appointment of a new Army chief will be made on the 26th of November 2022.
Read More : Notification for appointment of New Army Chief to be issued by 26th Nov 2022 – Defence Minister Khawaja Asif
