Following heightened tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir has issued a stern call to the Taliban regime, urging it to take firm and immediate action against terrorist proxies using Afghan soil to launch attacks inside Pakistan.
The army chief, who was addressing a passing-out parade at the Pakistan Military Academy (PMA) Kakul, Abbottabad, on Saturday, urged the people of Afghanistan to choose “mutual peace and security over violence”.
The Taliban government in Kabul should act decisively against militant proxies operating from its soil for terrorist activities in Pakistan, he said while attending the passing-out parade of the 152nd PMA Long Course, 37th Technical Graduate Course, 71st Integrated Course, and 26th Lady Cadet Course, as the chief guest.
The COAS’s remarks came a day after the extension of a temporary truce between Pakistan and Afghanistan, following days of fierce fighting that left dozens dead and hundreds wounded.
In his address to the graduating cadets, Field Marshal Munir highlighted the armed forces’ role in defending the country’s internal and external frontiers since its creation.
He said that the armed forces, with the full support of the nation, have demonstrated unwavering resolve, conviction, and professionalism in safeguarding the country’s sovereignty.
While celebrating the country’s victory against India’s aggression, the army chief said that Pakistan once again came out victorious against the treacherous enemy, marked by strategic blindness and naivety about its misguided hegemonic ambitions.
Referring to the military operations in May, he said that Operation Bunyan-um-Marsoos had further strengthened public confidence in the competence and capabilities of Pakistan’s armed forces.
Field Marshal Munir added that the armed forces had neutralised all threats with remarkable professionalism. Pakistan, the COAS said, had demonstrated its readiness and “will to defend the nation by downing advanced aircraft like Rafales, targeting multiple bases such as S-400, and showcasing multidomain warfare capabilities”.
He criticised India’s eagerness to adjudge culpability, evade neutral investigations, and stage self-created evidence as indicative of the politicisation of terrorism for the vested interests of the ruling regime.
“Pakistan gained deep respect and admiration from the people of Pakistan and the international community because of the legitimacy and clear victory against a numerically superior adversary.
“Internally, it has further unified the nation and strengthened its resolve to defend against any threat, whether external or internal. It has reinforced the confidence, particularly among the youth, that the armed forces of Pakistan are an essential element of national power and are trusted with the responsibility to protect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the state.
“Let me assure the nation that with the help and mercy of Allah, the Almighty, and with the support of the people, we will not lose an inch of the sacred land, and from here on you all shall be contributing to the same cause,” he said.
COAS Munir proudly saluted the people of Pakistan, every soldier, sailor, airman, the brave men, women, children and elderly who laid their lives during the testing times, and the Ghazis who fought with utmost conviction to defend the motherland at all cost
