Pakistan Army Chief Visits Troops at LoC, Asks Them to Be Prepared

This was his first visit to the LoC since friction between India and Pakistan heightened after the Pulwama attack.

File image of General Qamar Javed Bajwa.

(Photo Courtesy: Twitter/Nadeem Shakir)  

Pakistan Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa visited Pakistani troops at the Line of Control (LoC) in PoK on Friday, 22 February, and asked them to be prepared to deal with any possible event, reported India Today. He also reviewed the troops’ preparedness for any event.

This was the army chief’s first visit to the LoC since friction between India and Pakistan heightened in the aftermath of the Pulwama attack on 14 February.

Pakistan's Army, on Friday, had accused India of sending war threats and warned of a "surprise response" if New Delhi initiated any aggression, reported IANS.

Addressing the troops, General Bajwa said, “Pakistan is a peace-loving county and it will not be intimidated or coerced. Any aggression or misadventure shall be paid back in same coin,” according to India Today.

Denying Pakistan's role in the bombing, Major General Asif Ghafoor, Director General of the Pakistan Army's media wing, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said that Islamabad "had nothing to gain from Pulwama attack" and added that the person responsible for the suicide bombing was a local who grew tired of "India's high-handedness" in the Valley, reported IANS.

He called on the Indian government to demand an explanation from its security forces before blaming Pakistan, saying that India had not been able to accept the reality of Partition.

“The partition happened in 1947 and Pakistan was liberated. India still hasn’t been able to accept that,” he said, according to India Today.

Addressing a press conference in Rawalpindi, Ghafoor said, “Pakistan is not preparing for war. Threats and reports of a war are coming from your (India's) side. We are only using our right to self defence.”

(With inputs from IANS and India Today.)