Outgoing chief of Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor Thursday said the Pakistani leadership responded to the threat of war from India in an admirable manner and that Chief of Army Staff Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa’s ‘superior military strategy’ saved South Asia from a major conflict.
“Pakistan desires peace in the region and the Indian civil and military leadership should also recognise its importance,” he told his last press conference as DG ISPR, and called on India to end the oppression of the people of occupied valley of Kashmir. He said Gen Bajwa’s ‘military diplomacy’ has exalted Pakistan’s standing among the nations of the world.
Appreciating the progress in Pakistan’s standing in the international arena, Maj Gen Ghafoor said the nation has moved from ‘negative relevance’ 20 years ago to ‘positive relevance’ in the world. He called on the nation to present a united front against the challenges the country faces and that ‘no world power’ can defeat a united nation. “A country does not fight with the force of its weapons, it does so with the might of its determination and the support of the people,” he said.
Praising Gen Bajwa’s ‘historic measures’, he said that the army chief made ‘important and difficult decisions’ for peace in the country. “Raddul Fasaad has been the most challenging operation and is a crucial element to secure lasting peace,” he said.
He also spoke of Gen Bajwa’s role in religious harmony and madressah reforms as well as in securing the Pak-Afghan and Pak-Iran borders. “The Bajwa doctrine is bringing peace to the country and the region without compromising on national security,” he said.
With regard to the recent comments made by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi wherein he claimed that Indian forces are now capable of making Pakistan ‘bite the dust’ in less than 10 days, Maj Gen Ghafoor said that the Pakistan Army ‘will always surprise the Indian armed forces’. “We have said this before, and I am saying it again: you may start a war, but we will be the ones to end it,” he said, adding that the Indian government and leadership are once again making ‘irresponsible statements’. “How can an army which could not defeat 8 million Kashmiris in the past 71 years, defeat 207 million Pakistanis?” he asked. “There is no victory in war; humanity always loses. However, we will give a befitting response if war is imposed upon us,” he said. “In February 2019, a Pakistan-India war was knocking at our doors but the Pakistan Army’s preparedness and effective response paved the way for peace. All three services proved themselves competent,” he said.
He said the nation owes a lot to the country’s intelligence agency. “ISI is among the most well recognised intelligence agency in the world,” he said.
He said as the military media wing’s spokesperson, he never gave his personal opinion on any matter. “A military spokesperson can never speak in contrast to the policy of the armed forces,” he said, and thanked the nation, especially the ‘youth on media’, for their support. He also said that he considers it an ‘honour’ if Indians are happy on his exit from the role.
Maj Gen Ghafoor, who will be replaced by his successor, Maj Gen Babar Iftikhar, will take charge as the General Officer Commanding Okara.
