Gilgit visit: Army prepared to avert ‘threat from east’, says COAS

Gen Qamar extends full support to G-B leadership

ISLAMABAD: Hours after a bomb blast in Lahore which killed at least eight people, army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa has said that despite internal security threats, Pakistan Army is fully prepared for effective response against “perpetual threat from the East”.

In an apparent reference to the neighbouring India, the COAS made these remarks while talking to troops at Goma and Gilgit on Thursday, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).

“We all are proud to be soldiers of Pakistan and defending it irrespective of terrain or weather difficulties.”

He also visited Siachen, where he laid floral wreath at Yadgar-e-Shuhada of Gyari. “We owe our independence to sacrifices of our Shuhada. Nothing is nobler than laying one’s life in defence of the motherland,” the army chief was quoted as saying.

Later, the army chief also interacted with notables of Gilgit-Baltistan. “The COAS assured them that army was extending full support to all initiatives aimed at ensuring the rights of G-B as part of the federation,” the military’s media wing said.

Pakistan has been hit by a series of suicide bomb attacks in recent days, claiming more than 100 lives.

At least 88 people were killed when a suicide bomber blew himself up at the Lal Shahbaz Qalandar shrine in Sindh’s Sehwan town last week. In response, Pakistan Army launched on Wednesday a countrywide security operation codenamed Operation Radd-ul-Fasaad.

During his visit to troops deployed along the Line of Control (LoC) at Mattewala, Munaawar Sector earlier in the week, the army chief vowed to take the case of Indian spy Kulbhushan Yadav to its logical conclusion and stated that Pakistan was fully aware of Indian designs and its support to terrorism.

“Pakistan Army soldiers are known for their professional competence, motivation and selfless devotion for defence of our motherland and are backbone of Pakistan Army,” he had said.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 24^th, 2017.