Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa on Friday recognised the deep-rooted ties between Pakistan and the United Kingdom, expressing the hope that relations between the two countries would reach “historic heights” in the future.
The army chief made the remarks while attending the passing-out parade at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst where he was the chief guest.
The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS) is one of several military academies of the United Kingdom and is the British Army’s initial officer training centre.
Due to the pandemic, he had not visited the academy over the last couple of years, but had been a regular visitor each year since he took over as head of the army.
The COAS began his address by saying that it was a “great honor and privilege” for him to be present during today’s ceremony.
He congratulated the cadets and their families on successfully completing their training at the academy, saying: “You are part of the finest militaries in the world that has produced great military leaders”.
“Two Pakistani cadets will also be graduating with you today and let me say that I am as proud of you as I am of them,” he told the graduating officers and congratulated them and their families.
Gen Bajwa said that his presence at the academy today was a “testimony” of the relationship shared by Pakistan and UK “based on mutual respect and shared values”.
“Similarly, the bond between the two armed forces is uniquely special and has been kept alive over the years through close professional contact in training and other military activities,” he remarked.
The COAS, moving on to address the passing out cadets, highlighted that there would be great responsibilities and expectations associated with them henceforth.
“The journey ahead of you is both challenging and exciting. As you grow, you the demand of professionalism [from the cadets] will also increase,” he said, pointing out that no one was born with professional knowledge rather “it has to be acquired with constant pursue”.
“Without it you can not achieve professional confidence which is the hallmark of successful military leadership,” Gen Bajwa stated, going on that along with professionalism, decision-making was also very important.
“You need to have the will to take decisions and accept full responsibility [of them]. That will require confidence and competence.”
He also said that the primary responsibility of the armed forces today was not to win wars but to ensure that they don’t occur. “It is on our collective capacity to come together and take the route of peace and cooperation instead of conflict, communication instead of clash and multilateralism instead of self-preservation.
“In the interest of world peace, we must strive to preserve the vitality, relevance and internal sense of impartiality in multilateral institutions, maintain consensus on the collective defense of global commons and uphold the prestige of international law,” he stressed, cautioning that failure to do so may lead to the destruction of the “beautiful world that we have”.
Gen Bajwa then wished the cadets the best for their future and hoped that they would serve their countries with honor, dignity and pride.
After the speech, he also inspected the cadets and chatted with them.
The COAS had arrived in UK early on Thursday morning, the Inter-Services Public Relations said in a statement.
During the visit, he will call on the military leadership of the UK, apart from the attending the passing-out parade.
The army chief made the remarks while attending the passing-out parade at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst where he was the chief guest.
The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS) is one of several military academies of the United Kingdom and is the British Army’s initial officer training centre.
Due to the pandemic, he had not visited the academy over the last couple of years, but had been a regular visitor each year since he took over as head of the army.
The COAS began his address by saying that it was a “great honor and privilege” for him to be present during today’s ceremony.
He congratulated the cadets and their families on successfully completing their training at the academy, saying: “You are part of the finest militaries in the world that has produced great military leaders”.
“Two Pakistani cadets will also be graduating with you today and let me say that I am as proud of you as I am of them,” he told the graduating officers and congratulated them and their families.
Gen Bajwa said that his presence at the academy today was a “testimony” of the relationship shared by Pakistan and UK “based on mutual respect and shared values”.
“Similarly, the bond between the two armed forces is uniquely special and has been kept alive over the years through close professional contact in training and other military activities,” he remarked.
The COAS, moving on to address the passing out cadets, highlighted that there would be great responsibilities and expectations associated with them henceforth.
“The journey ahead of you is both challenging and exciting. As you grow, you the demand of professionalism [from the cadets] will also increase,” he said, pointing out that no one was born with professional knowledge rather “it has to be acquired with constant pursue”.
“Without it you can not achieve professional confidence which is the hallmark of successful military leadership,” Gen Bajwa stated, going on that along with professionalism, decision-making was also very important.
“You need to have the will to take decisions and accept full responsibility [of them]. That will require confidence and competence.”
He also said that the primary responsibility of the armed forces today was not to win wars but to ensure that they don’t occur. “It is on our collective capacity to come together and take the route of peace and cooperation instead of conflict, communication instead of clash and multilateralism instead of self-preservation.
“In the interest of world peace, we must strive to preserve the vitality, relevance and internal sense of impartiality in multilateral institutions, maintain consensus on the collective defense of global commons and uphold the prestige of international law,” he stressed, cautioning that failure to do so may lead to the destruction of the “beautiful world that we have”.
Gen Bajwa then wished the cadets the best for their future and hoped that they would serve their countries with honor, dignity and pride.
After the speech, he also inspected the cadets and chatted with them.
The COAS had arrived in UK early on Thursday morning, the Inter-Services Public Relations said in a statement.
During the visit, he will call on the military leadership of the UK, apart from the attending the passing-out parade.
