Contradicting Prime Minister Imran Khan’s earlier statement about maintaining ‘neutrality’ on the war in Ukraine, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Gen Qamar Bajwa called on Russia to ‘immediately stop’ the aggression against its smaller neighbouring country. He also reaffirmed Pakistan’s ‘strategic relationship’ with the US, in the wake of PM Imran’s allusions that the country was trying to topple the government.
Speaking from a written speech to the crowd of national and international policy makers at the Islamabad Security Dialogue on Saturday, Gen Bajwa took a decisive stance against Russia’s attack against Ukraine and calle on an immediate ceasefire and dialogue between the two countries. He noted that despite Ukraine’s relatively smaller size, the country was able to stand up to against aggression from a much larger country. He stated that Pakistan would continue to provide humanitarian assistance to Ukraine
“Pakistan does not believe in camp politics and our bilateral relations with our partners are not at the expense of our relationships with other countries,” the general said.
Dismissing Prime Minister’s accusations that the United States was trying to interfere with Pakistan’s internal affairs, Gen Bajwa said, “we share a long and excellent strategic relationship with the US which remains our largest export market.”
He said that Pakistan sought to maintain ties with both the United States and China, “without impacting our relations with [either]”.
Both the US State Department and the White House have categorically refuted Prime Minister Imran Khan’s allegations that the country tried to dislodge his government.
