“Today there is no such soldier or general, who has not fought this war (against terrorism) physically.
All the Corps Commanders have physically participated in this combat.
They have fought with weapons in their hands,” he said in response to a question during an exclusive interview with a private TV channel.
He was asked whether the today’s Corps Commanders were different from those of General Musharraf’s time.
“Such kind of mindset where you have firsthand experience of war is very different as compared to the army which did not fight such a war,” he said.
He said that the motivation and planning for such a war was done accordingly.
Pakistan, he said, had been facing challenges since 1947 as all the hostile powers, especially the perpetual threat of India, worked against it.
“Despite all these things Pakistan is heading towards peace. All this shows that Pakistanis are a resilient nation. Its (Pakistani nation’s) power potential basis are very strong, and if we take these positively in right direction, I think Pakistan’s destiny is peace and progress,” he added.
Emphasizing the need for ensuring security and stability in Afghanistan, Major General Asif Ghafoor said that lasting peace in the region was linked with the situation in Afghanistan.
He said before Afghans war there was no terrorism in Pakistan adding, “Our target is to take Pakistan to that pre-war peaceful era.” He said that peace had returned to the Pakistan and now its future was prosperous.
To a question regarding US President Trump’s statement about Pakistan, he said that the reaction on his statement was a national feeling. He said that the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) could never have been able to defeat Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan without Pakistan’s support.
He said Pakistan provided ISAF all the necessary logistic and intelligence support to overcome terrorism in Afghanistan. He said though Pakistan had less resources, it achieved what the security forces in Afghanistan could not get with all of their resources. DG ISPR said that Pakistan proposed to Afghanistan a bilateral border control mechanism.
He said Pakistan established around one thousand posts on its side of the border but on the Afghanistan no significant work had been done towards that direction.
He said the issues at the border could only be improved through better coordination and border management.
Maj Gen Ghafoor said that Pakistan had been successful in defeating the menace of terrorism through Operation Zarb-e-Azb. “It was decided that the terrorists will not be allowed to flee to Afghanistan,” he added.
He said that India was still active in terrorist activities inside Pakistan. “We are facing a perpetual security threat from the Eastern side,” he said adding that India would not like to see Pakistan’s efforts getting succeed against terrorism.
He said that the arrest of Kulbhushan was a proof of India's involvement in terrorist activities in Pakistan.