RAWALPINDI: The military has said that the Pakistan Armed Forces are always ready to defend the motherland and are well aware of their responsibilities, and clarified that former army chief General (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa’s statement on “combat worthiness” was “quoted out of the context”. The military’s media wing, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), issued a statement on Friday after discussions in the media about “Pakistan Army’s combat worthiness in view of the condition of certain weapon systems on its inventory”.

The ISPR said, “To this end, views of former army chief on the future threat to Pakistan, which he shared with media persons in an off-the-record interactive session, have been quoted out of the context.” The military assured the people that the army will always take pride in its “operational preparedness and utmost combat worthiness”. “Pakistan’s Armed Forces always did and will continue to keep their weapons, equipment and battle-hardened human resource ever ready for the defence of the motherland,” the ISPR added.