Photo courtesy ISPR
Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Gen. Asim Munir on Monday reaffirmed Pakistan would respond with its full national resolve and military might to any aggression or violation of its territorial sovereignty.
Addressing troops deployed on the frontline along the Line of Control (LoC) in the Sarian sector to mark Kashmir Solidarity Day, when Pakistan annually expresses its support for the struggle of Kashmiris in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), he stressed the Army was armed with a full threat spectrum and was “perpetually” ready to respond effectively.
A statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said he had also touched upon Indian state-sponsored terrorism in Pakistan, noting it now extended to the targeting of Pakistani citizens within the country. “Such callous disregard for international law and norms of the international system was becoming a routine occurrence and India was now being called out openly by many countries in the world, exposing her sham credentials,” he added.
The Army chief also appreciated the operational readiness, high-morale, and effective response of Pakistani troops to Indian ceasefire violations. “Pakistan would continue to expose all such attempts and ensure the security of its citizens,” the ISPR quoted him as saying.
Also on Monday, interim Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar accompanied Azad Jammu and Kashmir Prime Minister Chaudhry Anwarul Haq and the Army chief in a visit to Muzaffarabad. Upon their arrival at the Jammu and Kashmir Monument, the trio laid a floral wreath at the Martyrs’ Monument and paid rich tribute to the supreme sacrifices of shuhada, the military’s media wing added.
“The leadership acknowledged that the fortitude, resilience and unwavering faith of Kashmiris in the face of unabated brutality of Indian occupation forces in IIOJK had been exemplary,” it said. “The brewing humanitarian and security crises in IIOJK seriously threatens regional peace and stability. Pakistan would always stand with Kashmiris in their just struggle for the inalienable right to self-determination in light of UNSC resolutions,” it said, noting India had attempted to change the disputed region’s demography through “illegal administrative and unilaterally imposed draconian laws and security clampdowns.” Such steps, it vowed, would not deter the yearning of the Kashmiri people in attaining their legitimate objectives.
In a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office, Kakar said Kashmir Day was an occasion to pay rich tribute to the sacrifices of Kashmiris over the past 76 years. He said the relevant UNSC resolutions provided that the final disposition of held-Kashmir would be made as per the will of the people through the “democratic method of a free and impartial plebiscite” conducted under the U.N.