The Inter-Services Public Relations said on Friday that discussion in the media regarding Pakistan Army’s combat worthiness and the former army chief’s views to this end on the “future threat to Pakistan” have been “quoted out of context”.

In a statement issued today, the military’s media wing said: “Recently, there have been discussions in the media on the Pakistan Army’s combat worthiness in view of the condition of certain weapon systems on its inventory.

“To this end, views of the former army chief on the future threats to Pakistan, which he shared with media persons in an off-the-record interactive session, have been quoted out of context,” it said.

“The army assures the people of Pakistan that we always took and will continue to take pride in our operational preparedness and utmost combat worthiness,” the ISPR went on to say.

It added that Pakistan’s armed forces would continue to keep their weapons, equipment and “battle-hardened human resource ever ready for the defence of the motherland”.

The ISPR statement comes days after journalist Hamid Mir, in an interview with a local television channel, claimed that “[former COAS] Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa told 20-25 journalists in 2021 that the Pakistan Army was not capable of combat”.

Recalling the events after the 2021 ceasefire between Pakistan and India at the Line of Control, Mir alleged that Gen Bajwa had “made a deal on [occupied] Kashmir” — the details of which, he added, have yet not been made public.

He claimed that immediately after the ceasefire, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had to visit Pakistan but the then-foreign minister and premier [Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Imran Khan] weren’t aware of it.

Mir went on to say that the then-PM had demanded that details regarding Modi’s visit should be given to Foreign Office after which “Bajwa came to the FO with his entire convoy and gave a lecture”.

“This was the same lecture that he gave in front of us once too … that [Pakistan Army] tanks were not capable of running and there was no diesel for the movement of troops,” the journalist alleged.

“In front of 20-25 journalists, you are saying that the Pakistan Army is not capable of combat. But even at that time, we didn’t believe him,” he claimed, adding that the entire incident took place at the General Headquarters.