Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa has urged the passing-out parade of the 146th PMA Long Course at Pakistan Military Academy in Kakul not to get distracted by "fake news and political wrangling" in the country.

In his address to the cadets, the COAS also advised them to respect the democratic institutions and be always ready to defend the territorial integrity, sovereignty and constitution of Pakistan.

The army chief stressed for developing a mechanism for resolving all bilateral issues peacefully.

"As opposed to fighting each other, we should collectively fight hunger, poverty, illiteracy, population explosion, climate change and disease," he said.

Armed forces to stay out of politics, says COAS

COAS Bajwa further warned that the world has changed, "so should we as the price of status quo will be devastating for all of us".

However, he said Pakistan's desire for peace should not be construed as its weakness.

"No one should make any mistake about our collective resolve to defend our core interests and every inch of the motherland," he said.

Pakistan is a peace-loving country, the COAS said, adding that in the quest for peace, it has extended sincere efforts to evolve good relations with all its neighbours and regional countries.

“We are trying our best to break the political logjam which has denied the countries of South Asia to move forward and resolve all regional and bilateral issues in a peaceful and dignified manner.”