Gen Bajwa celebrates Eid with troops at LoC

RAWALPINDI: Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa celebrated Eid with troops along the Line of Control (LoC).

Gen Bajwa offered prayers with troops on the front line. Special prayers were made for peace, progress and prosperity of the motherland. Talking to troops, the COAS said the best Eid for a soldier was to have pride for being on duty of defending the motherland even on such festive days away from family. “Remember, for us, the defenders of Pakistan, our first family is the Pakistani nation, then the ones back home,” he said, the ISPR said in a statement.

Talking about the voluntary decision to forego even the routine increase in the annual defence budget, he said, “This initiative is not a favour to the nation as we are one, through thick and thin”.

“Irrespective of the voluntary cut in defence budget coming financial year (FY), there shall be no impact on our response potential to all types of threats and quality of life of the soldiers. The no-pay raise decision is also only for the officers and not for the soldiers. We shall manage the shortfall during the FY by tightening our belt in areas where it doesn’t affect the two aforesaid aspects, the COAS concluded.