Pakistan will never be coerced, and all inimical designs to derail the country’s counterterrorism efforts will be “comprehensively defeated,” Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir said on Friday, warning against India’s “unlawful and legally untenable hydro terrorism,” calling for a peaceful resolution to the Kashmir dispute to ensure strategic stability in South Asia.
According to the military’s media wing, the army chief made these remarks during his visit to Command and Staff College Quetta, where he addressed student officers and faculty members, touching upon operational readiness, regional stability, and Pakistan’s national security doctrine.
“Pakistan’s enemies will fail in their attempts to distract us from our focus on counterterrorism,” Field Marshal Munir was quoted as saying by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), adding that the nation stands united in the defence of its sovereignty. He also underscored the need for a peaceful resolution to the internationally recognised Kashmir dispute.
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The remarks come amid recent tensions between Pakistan and India following a series of military engagements triggered by the deadly Pahalgam attack in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), which claimed 26 lives, mostly tourists. India blamed Pakistan without evidence, prompting a chain of events that escalated into full-fledged cross-border hostilities.
India's use of force was met with a calibrated military response under Operation Bunyanum Marsoos, which targeted Indian air assets, ammunition depots, and missile bases along the Line of Control and beyond. The operation formed part of a broader campaign, Marka-e-Haq, which ran from May 7 to May 10.
Paying tribute to the martyrs of the operation, the COAS said the people of Pakistan had become a "wall of steel" under national leadership. “Marka-e-Haq is a testimony to our resolve, unity, and complete synergy among all elements of national power,” he said, adding, “Allah’s help comes to those nations that stand for the truth and fight with unity.”
Highlighting the changing nature of modern warfare, the COAS said Pakistan’s military remained prepared to respond across the full spectrum of conflict. He particularly criticised India’s growing tendency to resort to unprovoked military aggression, cautioning that strategic stability in South Asia was increasingly fragile and hinged on justice, especially in Kashmir.
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He also called out India for sponsoring terrorism inside Pakistan and expressed confidence in the ongoing counterterrorism drive. “Our fight against terrorism will continue until its logical conclusion,” he stated.
In his address to the student officers, Field Marshal Munir called for visionary and research-driven leadership within the armed forces. “Training must not only reflect present-day realities but also prepare us for future battlefields that demand agility, innovation, and unwavering resolve,” he said, lauding the Command and Staff College Quetta for grooming future military leaders.
Earlier, on his arrival in Quetta, the COAS was received by the Commander Quetta Corps and the Commandant of Command and Staff College.
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