Political failure not military: Pakistan army chief on 1971 Bangladesh war

TIL Desk/World/Rawalpindi/ Pakistan Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa on Wednesday said that East Pakistan debacle was political failure not a military one, the media reported on Wednesday. Touching upon history during his address, the outgoing army chief said that he wanted to “correct” some facts regarding the events of 1971.

“1971 was not a military, but a political failure. Our army fought courageously in East Pakistan,” the COAS highlighted. General Bajwa, during his address, said that the basic job of the armed forces is to protect the geographical boundaries. “No single party can take Pakistan out of the current economic crisis,” he said, adding that lessons should be learned from such mistakes so the nation could move forward.

The COAS went on to say that a true democratic culture has to be adopted in Pakistan by eradicating the climate of intolerance. “In 2018, using RTS as an excuse the winning party was called selected,” he recalled, adding that after being ousted via a no-confidence motion one party named the other as “imported”. “We need to reject this attitude, winning and losing is a part of politics and all parties should have courage to accept their defeat or victory so that in next election instead of an imported or selected government an elected government is formed,” he maintained.