Islamabad: The Pakistan military has said it would not accept any pressure to abandon the stance taken in negotiations with the United States, according to a report.


“We will accept no pressure for standing up for our principles,” said General Khalid Shameem Wynne, Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC).

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General Wynne’s comments came in the wake of escalating tensions between Islamabad and Washington, The Dawn reports.


US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta recently said that ‘the US are reaching the limits of patience’ for what is said to be Pakistan’s tolerance for Haqqani network and other militant groups running insurgency from sanctuaries in tribal areas. General Wynne, however, categorically denied this allegation in his speech at a graduation ceremony of National Security and War Course at the National Defence University.


“We are combating wholeheartedly the menace of extremism and terrorism so as to banish them from our society,” the paper quoted General Wynne, as saying.

“The people and the armed forces of Pakistan have taken up this challenge and our soldiers as well as innocent civilians are sacrificing their lives for this cause. We seek nothing beyond secure frontiers and pose no threat to any country,” he added. According to the paper, General Wynne also used the occasion to remind the US that there could be no peace without a resolution of the Kashmir issue.


“I must also point out that as long as regional disputes, especially Kashmir, remain unresolved, stability will remain a distant dream. We must therefore continue for a just solution of the Kashmir dispute as it is only fair to all the people who dwell in this region,” he said.
ANI