Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa has said relative peace that we find in the country has been achieved at a very heavy cost.

He said this while addressing the Passing out Parade of 110 Midshipmen and 19th Short Service Course held at Naval Academy in Karachi on Saturday.

He said that armed forces and Law enforcement agencies have rendered tremendous sacrifices to restore peace and order, paying the ultimate price with their blood.

He said it is our duty to honour their sacrifice through the display of unity, Faith and discipline in everything that we do.

He said, let's start the transition from conflict to progress, through a commitment to the ideas of Allama Iqbal and Quaid-e-Azam. He said this is minimum we can do for Pakistan.

Pakistan is a peace-loving country and believes in peace. Pakistan in the past has seen many conflicts both on its eastern and western borders. Wars bring death, destruction and misery for the people. Ultimately, all issues are resolved on the table through negotiations, that is why we are trying very hard to help bring lasting peace in Afghanistan by supporting Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace plan, he stated.

General Bajwa said, our new government has extended a hand of peace and friendship towards India with utmost sincerity but it should not be taken as our weakness, peace benefits everybody. It is time to fight against hunger, disease and illiteracy, then to fight against each other.

"We are here and we will remain here, in-sha-ALLAH. This is the time for our new generation to shine and blossom. We want you to emerge from a security perspective to a development perspective; therefore, join hands to take Pakistan forward," he further added.