General Qamar Javed Bajwa
Photographer: Farooq Naeem / AFP / Getty Images
Photographer: Farooq Naeem / AFP / Getty Images
The powerful head of the Pakistani army, General Qamar Javed Bajwa, called on India to “bury the past and move forward,” in rare comments that came a day after Prime Minister Imran Khan urged New Delhi to moving towards peace by solving the problems of the Kashmir region.
The nations with nuclear weapons have fought three wars since its independence from Britain in 1947, two of them over the Himalayan region. The area is divided between the two and claimed in its entirety by both. Their relationship reached its worst hurdle in recent years after a suicide attack in Indian Kashmir in February 2019 killed 40 soldiers. India retaliated with airstrikes against alleged terrorist camps in Pakistan that it says operate with the tacit blessings of Islamabad. Pakistan has always denied supporting terrorist groups.
Both nations withdrew their envoys later that same year after India revoked the constitutional autonomy of their Jammu-Kashmir state.
Pakistani Prime Minister Khan urges India to move towards peace
“We are ready to improve our environment by resolving all our outstanding issues with our neighbors through dialogue,” the army chief said. “But for the resumption of the peace process or meaningful dialogue, our neighbor will have to create a conducive environment,” particularly in the Kashmir part of India.
Bajwa’s comments on Islamabad’s security dialogue are significant, as the army, which has ruled Pakistan directly for about half of its history, plays an excessive role in the Khan government with foreign policy contributions. and security.
Peace openings follow an unusual joint statement by military commanders from India and Pakistan last month renewing vows to join a 2003 the ceasefire in Kashmir.
“We have learned from the past to evolve and we are ready to move towards a new future,” Bajwa said. “Still, that depends on reciprocity.”