PESHAWAR – Pakistan Army Chief has given some thought on oft quoted BajwaDoctrine without mentioning it.
COAS General Qamar Javed Bajwa revealed it before the tribal elders ofKhyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA).
He hailed the courage and resilience of the areas residents, according toa press release issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).
During the army chief s interaction with Senators, MNAs, businessmen,lawyers, academia and others in Peshawar, General Bajwa shared his candidthoughts about the security environment, achievements in war againstterrorism, challenges and way forward.
The COAS said that lately the Pakistani nation successfully passed throughvery difficult times of fighting extremism and terrorism but much is stillleft to be done.
He hailed the courage and resilience of the people of Pakistan especiallyresidents of FATA and KP, who have been victims of terrorism.
General Bajwa stated that the army fully supports socio-economicdevelopment in affected areas. He added that now is the time to unitedlykeep moving forward towards enduring peace and stability.
Discussing the issues related to check posts and unexploded ordnance etc.,the army chief said that measures to facilitate general public at checkposts without compromising security and clearance of unexploded ordnancewere already in process on completion of kinetic operations.
“No one is more interested than the security forces to have a peaceful andstable environment that allows their [security forces ] completede-induction,” he said, according to the ISPR.
“However a threat is still residing across the border and some disorganisedresidual potential including the ones morphed into Afghan refugees.Therefore we still need to move with caution.”
General Bajwa further added that notwithstanding the genuine problems ofthe peaceful citizens, the main concern was to not allow any anti-stateagenda in the garb of engineered protests etc aimed at reversing the gainsachieved at the heavy cost in blood and national exchequer to succeed.
He said the security of innocent citizens and defence of motherland comesfirst and foremost. The army chief reiterated that long-term dividend ofpeace is linked to earliest mainstreaming of FATA.
Audiences also interacted with General Bajwa and expressed their viewscandidly. They acknowledged the contributions and sacrifices of securityforces and expressed their desire for Pakistan to move forward on the pathto peace and prosperity.
The army chief concluded to assure the notables that the Pakistan Army, asa part of the state, is determined to root out extremism and terrorism onthe premise that prerogative of use of force rests with the state alone.
“Our vision is peaceful Pakistan and peaceful region and our efforts aregeared towards that end,” he said, according to the army s media wing.Commander Peshawar Corps and field commanders were also present in themeeting.