Ex-Army chief Bajwa's remarks on combat preparedness 'quoted out of context': Pak Army

Islamabad: The Pakistan Army on Friday dismissed media reports quoting its former chief General (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa's statement on military's combat preparedness and future threats to the country, saying his off the record remarks were “quoted out of context”.

The Inter-Services Public Relations, the army’s media wing, issued a statement after senior journalist Hamid Mir revealed recently in a TV show that Bajwa in a meeting with 20-25 journalists in 2021 stated that "the Pakistan Army was not capable of combat”.

Mir revealed in the TV show that Bajwa in the meeting stated that Pakistan was not in a condition to fight a war with India, Geo News reported.

Responding to the reports, the Pakistan Army said: “Recently, there have been discussions in the media on the Pakistan Army’s combat worthiness in view of the condition of certain weapon systems on its inventory." “To this end, 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, have been quoted out of context,” it said in a statement.

It said Pakistan’s armed forces would continue to keep their weapons, equipment and “battle-hardened" human resources ready for the defence of the country.

“The army assures the people of Pakistan that we always took and will continue to take pride in our operational preparedness and utmost combat worthiness,” it said.

Bajwa retired in November last year after serving two successive three-year terms as Pakistan's Chief of Army Staff.