President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif Thursday jointly conferred the baton of field marshal upon Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) Field Marshal Asim Munir during a special investiture ceremony at the Aiwan-e-Sadr in Islamabad.
Addressing the ceremony, the President said they gathered to honour the nation’s defence forces and the heroes of the army, navy and the air force, who defended the sovereignty, territory and integrity against unprovoked Indian aggression.
The remarks that the Prime Minister made on the occasion explained why the highest military title was conferred on the Army Chief Syed Asim Munir.
He pointed out that the COAS led our brave defence forces to a remarkable victory against an enemy, caught in its own web of arrogance and hubris.
Our defence forces not only defended the nation’s frontiers but also took the battle deep into the enemy’s territory, and within no time, the aggressor was brought to its knees and was taught a lesson.
The Prime Minister also highlighted the point during a ceremony for distribution of compensation cheques among the families of those martyred in Maarka-e-Haq, the recent Pakistan-India war, in Muzaffarabad.
He affirmed that India would never forget the defeat in the recent briefest yet most effective war that also falsified those who thought Pakistan lagged behind in conventional war.
In fact, India had false notions about its military superiority and as a result it was dreaming of virtually subjugating and dictating its term to Pakistan.
It was because of the meticulous planning and bold execution of the defensive strategy carved out by our military leadership that India got a lesson of the century.
The response that the defence forces gave to the unprovoked invasion after the Pahalgam incident not only conveyed a firm message to India that Pakistan is capable of defending its sovereignty and territorial integrity but also elevated the stature and credibility of the country in the comity of nations.
As Pakistan had a principled-based transparent approach to the conflict, its point of view was well received by the global community and its response was considered as a legitimate defensive measure.
Pakistan’s measured, yet forceful, military response to Indian aggression had rewritten history and proven Pakistan’s defensive capabilities to the world.
As highlighted by the Prime Minister, our forces led by General Asim Munir, turned the tide within hours, forcing India to plead for a ceasefire.
It was because of the courageous and effective response that India is no longer hurling military threats but is continuously pursuing a policy to harm Pakistan and its core interests through other means.
The nation has justifiably honoured Chief of Army Staff Syed Asim Munir by conferring him the prestigious title of Field Marshal.
People of Pakistan have pinned great hopes on the Field Marshal in the backdrop of aggressive posturing by India, conspiracies being hatched by India to undermine security of Pakistan and its economic interests and malicious propaganda against the country’s nuclear programme that has proved as a strong deterrence against nefarious imperialism of our eastern neighbour.
Indian designs and intentions were open secrets but the remarks Prime Minister Narendra Modi made on Thursday was yet another confirmation of what the enemy was thinking vis-à-vis Pakistan.
He threatened that Pakistan would not get water from rivers over which India has rights, adding Pakistan will have to pay a heavy price for every terrorist attack …
Pakistan’s army will pay it, Pakistan’s economy will pay it.
Modi miserably failed in his strategy to coerce Pakistan defence forces and now his country is using proxies to carry out attacks on families of defence personnel as confirmed by the Khuzdar terrorist attack.
It is the expectation of the nation that the Field Marshal will be able to knit a coherent strategy to foil attempts of the enemy to destabilize Pakistan or demoralize its forces.
India has already stockpiled weapons of all kinds from different global sources and is also receiving advanced military technology including nuclear and missile from various countries.
It is understood that New Delhi will go on a globe-wide shopping spree to acquire weapons and technologies to counter Pakistans defence preparedness.
We have been emphasizing in these columns time and again that Pakistan cannot afford to enter into an arms race with India but at the same time it cannot afford to close its eyes to the emerging threats to its security and economy.
Therefore, it is important that Pakistan, with the close coordination of some friendly countries, should move towards indigenous defence production and particularly invest in latest technologies like drones, lasers and cyber war.
Similarly, there is national consensus to keep the nuclear deterrence relevant through continued research and development.
There are renewed attempts aimed at making Pakistan’s nuclear programme controversial through false propaganda about safety and security of the country’s nuclear assets.
As India’s Defence Minister talked about handing over control of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons to International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), former US national security adviser John Bolton also churned venom against the programme by raising concerns about safety of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons claiming these could fall into the hands of terrorists or irresponsible commanders making their own decisions.
The frivolous nature of the statement is evident from the fact that Pakistan has the most advanced and fail-proof command and control system as has also been acknowledged repeatedly by members of the international community.
Pakistan Foreign Office has a point when it says that John Bolton’s remarks were prompted by a statement from Rajnath Singh — a leader affiliated with a Hindu extremist organisation, known for repeatedly issuing threats of aggression against Pakistan.
The duplicity of the remarks of Bolton is also evident from the fact that he ignored the presence of a nuclear black market in India and nuclear threats hurled by New Delhi, which forced Pakistan to go nuclear.
In this backdrop, it is all the more important that Pakistan should continue to upgrade its nuclear and missile capabilities and resist all pressures in this regard.
The Pakistan Army has been extending its wholehearted assistance to the Government in its fights against different mafias as part of the strategy to address ills of the economy.
As a strong economy is the backbone of the country’s overall defence and a guarantee of securing national sovereignty, the process of close coordination on economic issues should also continue.
