The Pakistan Army’s media wing clarified on Friday that General (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa’s statement regarding “combat worthiness” was taken out of context. The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) issued the statement after discussions in the media on “Pakistan Army’s combat worthiness in view of the condition of certain weapon systems on its inventory”. “To this end, views of former army chief on the future threat to Pakistan, which he shared with media persons in an off-the-record interactive session, have been quoted out of the context,” said the ISPR.

The military’s media wing assured the people that the army will always take pride in its “operational preparedness and utmost combat worthiness”. “Pakistan’s Armed Forces always did and will continue to keep their weapons, equipment and battle-hardened human resource ever ready for the defense of the motherland,” said the ISPR. Following journalist Hamid Mir’s disclosure in a televised program that General (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa had reportedly said in a meeting with 20-25 journalists that Pakistan was not prepared to engage in a war with India, the military’s media wing has issued a statement. Indian media outlets subsequently reported on Mir’s statement.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan-INP