Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Bajwa said on Saturday that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine should be stopped immediately and termed it as a major tragedy.
Speaking at the Islamabad security talks, General Bajwa expressed Pakistan’s serious concern over the conflict, and said that “despite Russia’s legitimate security concerns, its aggression against a small country cannot be forgiven.”
“Pakistan has consistently called for a ceasefire and an end to hostilities. We support immediate dialogue between all parties to find a lasting solution to the conflict.”
He said the Russian invasion of Ukraine was very unfortunate as thousands died, millions became refugees and “half of Ukraine was destroyed”.
The army chief said the conflict has given smaller countries hope that they can still defend their territory with small but agile forces by selectively modernizing against large country aggression.
He said Pakistan has enjoyed excellent defense and economic ties with Ukraine since its independence, but relations with Russia were “cold” for a number of reasons for a long time. However, some positive developments in this regard have happened recently, he said.
He said that Pakistan has sent humanitarian aid to Ukraine through Pakistan Air Force (PAF) aircraft and will continue to do so. He cautioned that the continuation or extension of the conflict would not serve the interests of either side, least of all developing countries that would continue to face the socio-economic costs of the conflict, which, he said, “easily get out of hand.” go.” could”.
General Bajwa pointed out that there are two camps at the international level – one that advocates conflict and the other that advocates cooperation – and the future vision of security will be determined by which camp prevails.
“I believe that the world today is created by those who believe in cooperation, respect and equality rather than division, war-delusion and domination.”
Pakistan’s interests were served only when cooperation was promoted rather than competition between power centres, he called on the international community to support cooperative countries such as Pakistan, rather than those who seek to benefit from this competition.
Indian missile incident
During his speech, General Bajwa spoke about India’s “Accidental” Launching A supersonic cruise missile in Pakistan is of “grave concern” on March 9, “We expect India to provide evidence to reassure Pakistan and the world that their weapons are safe and secure.”
“Unlike other incidents involving strategic weapon systems, this is the first time in history that a supersonic cruise missile from one nuclear-armed nation has landed in another,” he said.
General Bajwa said the incident had raised “serious concerns” about India’s ability to manage and operate high-end weapon systems, adding that the neighboring country “did not immediately inform Pakistan about the unintentional launch”. did”. Indifferent attitude to doing” was similarly related.
The missile incident first came to light on March 10 when the Director General of Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Major General Babar Iftikhar shared the details of an Indian “high-speed flying object” that fell at Mian Channu in Khanewal district.
India released Statement On 11 March, two days after the actual launch of the missile, it was an accident.
More to follow.