RISALPUR: Chief of the Army Staff General Raheel Sharif said on Thursday that the armed forces were fully prepared to give the “most befitting response” to any internal or external threats to the country.

Addressing the passing-out parade of combined courses of the College of Flying Training and Aeronautical Engineering at the PAF Academy in Risalpur, the army chief reiterated Pakistan’s commitment to pursuing the policy of friendship with all countries on the basis of mutual respect and equality.

However, he warned that any aggression borne out of “deliberate intent or even a strategic miscalculation will not be allowed to go unpunished” and would be met with the most befitting response.

Referring to the atrocities in India-held Kashmir, he said: “We have recently witnessed an unfortunate display of utter desperation playing out inside occupied Kashmir and along the Line of Control through a litany of falsehoods and distortion of facts by India.”

He urged the international community to condemn Indian insinuations and fabrications about Pakistan, which he said made unparalleled contributions to the global fight against terrorism.

Gen Raheel said that Pakistan wanted good relations with all its neighbours, but no one should make any mistakes about the nation’s collective resolve to defend the motherland.

About the domestic front, he said that the armed forces had achieved “phenomenal success” in uprooting the terrorist infrastructure from Pakistani soil.

However, he added, the enemies of peace and prosperity had been distressed by the sight of the country’s success and they would now attempt to accelerate their efforts “to reverse our gains and derail the country’s progress” through their direct and indirect strategies.

“Their nefarious designs will not be allowed to succeed at any cost,” he declared.

Praising the role of the Pakistan Air Force in the fight against terrorism, the army chief said that Zarb-i-Azb, with the support of the PAF, had successfully turned the tide against terrorism. “Its role has been crucial in achieving our objectives to root out the menace of terrorism.”

“The exemplary cooperation between the services leading us to stability in a short time is unique in this type of warfare. It is a value which we must all cherish and carry forward with even deeper commitment in the future,” he said, adding: “For sustainable peace, the forces are now engaged in eliminating the residual threat in the form of facilitators and their sympathisers through intelligence-based and combing operations across the country.”

He said that it was a great honour for him to review the passing-out parade.

He also felicitated the graduating cadets and said: “The PAF rightly takes pride in its unmatched mix of high-end technology with quality human resource and continuous force upgrade for ensuring its fighting potential. It is indeed satisfying that PAF is vigorously pursuing the force goals to retain its cutting edge.”

Joint Pak-Russia exercise reviewed

The COAS visited the field area on Thursday and witnessed the ongoing Pakistan-Russia joint exercise — DRUZBAH — which commenced on Sept 27, our correspondent in Attock adds.

The army chief met participating troops and appreciated their professionalism, skills and dedication.

Paying tribute to both armies, he said that the Pakistani troops were most battle hardened and experienced and reckoned as one of the best in the world as were the Russian troops rated best amongst the contemporary armies.

He said that such joint military exercises would provide an excellent opportunity to participating troops to learn from each others’ experience in counterterrorism domain.

Published in Dawn, October 7th, 2016