The Pakistan Army and its people are like a single unit, who are fully committed to leading their lives with dignity and honour and they would never compromise on the country's integrity and its good stature, Chief of Army Staff (CoAS) General Ashfaq Pervaiz Kayani has said.
He said this while addressing a seminar organised to pay homage to those who laid down their lives to defend the country from the external as well as internal forces which are repeatedly trying to inflict damage to the country's well-being. The Army Chief said the country was passing through a critical phase of its history and we should think about it above all personal interests to make it strong and prosperous. In his speech, General Kyani also paid rich tribute to the martyrs of Pakistan Army and said that he is saluting to the martyrs of Pak Army as well as brave soldiers (Ghazis).
He said they were standing with the families of the martyrs and would remain so in the future. He reiterated that the Pakistani nation and its armed forced are like a single unit with a binding force of "Unity, Faith and Discipline." The COAS recalled that people of Pakistan have fought side-by-side with armed forces against militancy in the country, adding that this co-operation is a symbol of unshakable bond between the civilians and the armed forces, which will make the country stronger and stronger with the passage of time.
"It is a fact that Pakistan is passing through a critical period of its history and we are confronted with multiple challenges. The pages of the history are full of stories that every nation had faced thick and thin during their lives but they came out of this transition with courage and unity and discipline in their ranks," he said.
General Kayani asked the entire nation not to lose patience and keep alive their dreams for a prosperous country and render their support to Pakistan. "We have the resilience to turn a loss into a gain and impossible into possible, but this would be possible if we don't let disappointment and uncertainty to shadow our minds and keep pace in the straight line," he said. He said the national spirit and resolve could turn the dream of a prosperous Pakistan into a reality and, "We should do this".
While quoting the sayings of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the Army Chief said we have won the fight for freedom but would need more than that to maintain and cement the foundations of our country against the internal and external forces.
"We love to live in peaceful atmosphere with our neighbourly countries in the region and want to make good ties with other nations," General Kyani concluded.
MONITORING DESK adds: The Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani said that the nation's honour and integrity would not be compromised for "prosperity", Aaj News reported. "What's in national interest and what's not will be decided by Pakistani people," the Army Chief said.