Bajwa Rakes Up Kashmir Issue, Asks Troops to Reply With Full Force

Bajwa’s statement comes at a time when India-Pak relations are strained after the Uri and Nagrota terror attacks.

Pakistan army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa (Photo: AP)

Pakistan's newly appointed army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa on Friday raked up the Kashmir issue for the first time during an address to soldiers and asked them to respond with "full force" to each ceasefire violation by India.

Each violation of any kind must be responded to with full force in the most effective manner.

General Qamar Javed Bajwa

General Bajwa said this during while visiting the 10 Corps Rawalpindi and troops at forward locations along the Line of Control (LoC).

Bajwa, who visited the troops on the LoC for the first time since taking over command of the army this week, was briefed on the security situation along the LoC "in view of recent violations and escalation by Indian troops and Pakistan's own response", the army's media wing, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), said in a statement.

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According to the statement, Bajwa said India’s “aggressive posture” was aimed solely at diverting the world’s attention away from “the atrocities being committed by Indian troops” in Kashmir.

“The Kashmir issue will have to be resolved in line with United Nations resolutions keeping in view the aspirations of the Kashmiri people in order to achieve lasting regional peace,” Bajwa further said in his first public comments on the Kashmir issue after taking over as the Chief of Army Staff this week.

He appreciated the “befitting response” given to “unprovoked Indian firing” across the LoC and asked troops to keep the highest level of vigil at all times, the statement said.

Bajwa's statement came at a time when India-Pakistan relations are strained following the terror attack on an Indian Army base camp in Uri and India's surgical strikes on terror launchpads in the PoK.

General Bajwa, 57, took over the command of the Paksitan army on Tuesday at a ceremony in Rawalpindi from General Raheel Sharif, who retired on 29 November.

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