Cold or hot start, we are ready

ISLAMABAD: In what appeared apparently to be a response to recent claim of Indian army chief that his troops were ready for the "swift, short nature of future wars", Pakistan's army chief Raheel Sharif on Sunday said that his forces were fully prepared to thwart any external aggression.

"If the enemy ever resorts to any misadventure, regardless of its size and scale - it will have to pay an unbearable cost," Raheel Sharif said while addressing a grand ceremony at the army's General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi to celebrate 50 years of the 1965 war with India.

In his address, General Raheel also spoke on other issues of relevance to the military, like terrorism, Karachi operation, China Pakistan Economic corridor and peace in Afghanistan, but his primary focus remained on threat from India."I can say with a lot of conviction that today our country is much stronger, and the Pakistani nation is more resolute than ever before. Pakistan is capable of dealing with all kinds of internal and external threats, be it conventional or sub-conventional, cold start or hot start. We are ready!"

To boost the morale of his troops, he said his army was among"the most battle hardened armies of the world, which has no parallels"."Despite the ups and downs witnessed by the country over the past 50 years, it was much stronger now," he added.

Gen Raheel described the longstanding Kashmir issue as an"unfinished agenda of partition" and warned against putting it on the back burner."The issue can no longer be put on the back burner. The time has come for resolving it in line with the aspirations of the Kashmiris and in accordance with the UN resolutions."

Moreover, Sharif promised to carry on the counter-terrorism operations to the logical end."I reiterate the resolve that we shall not relent until all terrorists, their financiers, abettors, facilitators and sympathisers are brought to justice."