Islamabad: The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Friday rebuffed speculations about Pakistan Army’s combat preparedness, saying that the statement of the former army chief, General (R) Qamar Javed Bajwa, has been “quoted out of context”.
According to a statement issued by the military’s media wing, the ISPR said that there had been discussions in the media on the Pakistan Army’s combat worthiness “in view of the condition of certain weapon systems on its inventory”.
The statement said that the views of the former army chief on the future threats to Pakistan, which he shared with media persons in an off-the-record interactive session, had been quoted out of context.
It went on to assure the people that Pakistan Army would 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 defence of the motherland,” said the ISPR.
It is important to mention here that the ISPR’s rebuttal came days after a senior journalist, Hamid Mir, claimed in an interview claimed that “[former COAS] Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa told 20-25 journalists in 2021 that the Pakistan Army was not capable of combat”.
‘Apolitical’ Army wants consensus among all politicians in Pakistan: DG ISPR