MURREE – Some hostile agencies from abroad are trying to destabilise Pakistan and criticise the army, said the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa on Monday.
The army chief was on a visit to a village near Murree to meet the parents of Lieutenant Arsalan Alam, who was martyred in Rajgal area of Khyber Agency on September 23.
“They hostile agencies fear the Army being a hurdle to achieving their nefarious designs,” Gen Bajwa said during a visit to the family of Lt. Arsalan Alam, the 22-year-old martyred soldier, according to an Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) handout.
The army chief said the armed forces would continue to perform in the country’s best interests and stand by the nation against all challenges, the handout read.
“Pakistan’s enemy is our enemy. Use of force is the prerogative of the state alone,” he said, according to ISPR.
“They consider the army as a hurdle in [the way of] their nefarious designs,” the army chief said. “[But] no power can harm us till our soil has such valiant sons and their brave parents.”
“I pay tribute to Arsalan’s parents who have sacrificed their son for the sake of this country. The night one of my soldiers or officers embraces martyrdom, I feel I lost a part of my body, my flesh, but the next morning I wake up with the renewed resolve to avenge the blood of my martyrs and eliminate terrorism,” said the army chief.
He further said, “we are sacrificing the best for our nation” but some people who are sitting abroad and are abusing the army, the country and want Pakistan to break up.
“I want to tell them (the enemies of this country) that they cannot harm this country until and unless we have such brave soldiers and one day the long arm of law will reach them,” said General Bajwa.
He paid tribute to all the martyrs of law enforcement agencies and reiterated his resolve to make Pakistan a country where constitution and law will reign supreme.
Arsalan Alam, a 22-year-old officer was commanding a post in Rajgal Valley, which borders Afghanistan, when it came under fire from the Afghan side. Alam was martyred as a result of the attack.
His funeral prayers were offered at Peshawar Garrison on Saturday and were attended by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Iqbal Zafar Jhagra, Peshawar Corps Commander Lt. Gen Nazir Butt, the deceased’s family members and senior military and civilian officials.
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