Islamabad: In remarks that can cause concerns in India, Pakistan army chief General Raheel Sharif today said it is an “unfinished agenda” of the partition in 1947 and Pakistan and Kashmir are “inseparable”.
Addressing cadets at the National Defence University (NDU) here, Raheel said, “Kashmir is an unfinished agenda of partition. Pakistan and Kashmir are inseparable.”
He also linked peace with India to resolving the Kashmir issue according to the UN resolutions. “While we wish peace, stability in the region, we want Kashmir’s just resolution in the light of UN resolutions and as per aspirations of Kashmiris to bring lasting peace in the region,” he said.
Parts of Raheel’s speech were tweeted by army spokesman Major General Asim Saleem Bajwa. Talking about the wars, Raheel said that the “contours of future wars are fast changing” but Pakistan was capable to defend it.
“While our enemies (are) supporting terrorism to stoke sub conventional conflicts and destabilise our country…(we are) fully determined and capable of defeating nefarious designs,” he said.
He also spoke about the use of proxies in the war against other countries. “Pakistan (is) opposed to the use proxies versus other countries and would not allow any country to use proxies versus Pakistan,” he said.
General Raheel’s statement came as war of words escalated between Pakistan and India. Pakistan has repeatedly accused India’s external intelligence agency RAW of being involved in militancy in Pakistan.
India has always rejected such allegations by Pakistan. India’s objection to the USD 46 billion agreement with China for an economic corridor has also upset Pakistan. India has raised concerns with China over the project as it goes through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).
