Islamabad: Pakistan Army chief General Asim Munir said on Saturday that the armed forces were fully capable of defending the country, and its "efforts for peace should never be taken as a sign of weakness.” Munir was addressing the passing out parade of cadets at Pakistan Military Academy (PMA) Kakul, in the Abbottabad district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

Asserting that Pakistan wants peace in the region and with its neighbours, the Army chief warned that “our efforts for peace should never be taken as a sign of weakness.” “We have the will, capability and capacity to protect our sovereignty and territorial integrity, and we are well aware of the ways and means to do it," the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) said.

He added that the Armed Forces would never shy away from any sacrifice to stabilise, secure and safeguard the future of the next generations.

"I assure the people of Pakistan that we will never hesitate in rendering any and every sacrifice necessary for the defence of our sacred motherland,” Munir said.

His remarks came after senior journalist Hamid Mir claimed recently in a TV show that former Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa, in a meeting with 20-25 journalists in 2021, stated that "the Pakistan Army was not capable of combat”.

Mir said that Bajwa in the meeting stated that Pakistan was not in a condition to fight a war with India, Geo News reported.

Gen Munir made a veiled reference to the numerical equation with India and quoted from the Quran that numbers were not enough for victory.

He added that "brave soldiers of the Armed Forces of Pakistan don’t get fascinated with the numbers or resources of their adversaries." He said that significant efforts were being made by “our adversaries to affect state and societal cohesion through multiple efforts”, Munir said that there was no space for spoilers to harm the hard-earned peace.

"People are central to the unity of the state and our future, as well as progress, depends on internal cohesion, democracy and constitutionalism," he was quoted as saying by Dawn newspaper.

"First and foremost is loyalty to the State of Pakistan and commitment to the constitutional role assigned to the Armed Forces of Pakistan,” he said.

Talking about Afghanistan, Munir said that stability, security and peace in Kabul are fundamental to Pakistan’s security and added that efforts would continue to bring peace to the region.

About Kashmir, he said that Pakistan firmly stands with the people of Kashmir.

“We will continue to provide political, moral and diplomatic support to our Kashmiri brothers,” he said and urged the international community to realise that without a just and peaceful resolution to the Kashmir issue, regional peace will forever remain elusive.

According to a statement by the Army, cadets from Palestine, Bahrain, Iraq, Qatar and Sri Lanka were also among those who passed out.