Pak army chief rakes up "K-issue" again

The comment came on a day when Pakistani troops violated ceasefire again and resorted to firing targeting Indian outposts.

Addressing a passing-out parade at the Military Academy in Kakul, General Sharif said that the people of Kashmir should be allowed to decide their fate in the light of United Nations resolutions. "We persistently seek peace in the region and beyond. This quest for peace is our nation's greatest strength. We desire regional stability and relationship based on equality and mutual respect," he said.

"Lasting peace in the region will only come about with a fair and just resolution of Kashmir issue in accordance with the will of Kashmiri people, as enshrined in the UN resolution," Raheel said while advocating UN intervention on the Kashmir issue.

Raheel’s comments came after United Nations recently snubbed Islamabad’s request to intervene on the Kashmir issue, which reiterated that that India and Pakistan need to resolve all differences through dialogue to find a long-term solution to the dispute, media reported. While quashing Pakistan’s request, UN chief encouraged India and Pakistan to resolve all differences through dialogue and engage constructively to find a long-term solution for peace and stability."

Hitting out at India, Pak army chief on Sayurday said that Pakistan's armed forces were fully capable of meeting any external threat. Any aggression against Pakistan will get a "befitting response," he said. Let there be no doubt that any aggression against our beloved country will get a befitting response; no sacrifice will be too great in this sacred cause," Raheel added.

The statement came on a day when Pakistani troops fired at Indian posts on the previous night along the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir. Media reported, there have been four ceasefire violations in Jammu and Poonch districts in the past 24 hours. Sources said no casualties were reported in the cross-border firing so far. There was another incident of firing on Wednesday from across the border along the LoC in Saujian sector of Poonch. Pakistani troops had targeted forward areas in Kirni and Shahpur belts.

Pak General’s comments on Kashmir comes just days after former army chief Pervez Musharraf made a controversial statement claiming that Pakistani people only needed to be "incited" to fight for Kashmir. "People in Kashmir are already against them, they only need to be incited. Lakhs of people are ready to go from Pakistan to fight them, so they should not be in any doubt about Pakistan," Musharraf was quoted by media as saying.

General Sharif on Saturday pointed out that the military operation in North Waziristan was successfully going on and it would continue till militancy is completely wiped out.

Raheel said the objective of the armed forces is to establish peace in the country and they have already destroyed the organised network of terrorists which was based in North Waziristan.

The International Border and the LoC in Jammu region witnessed heavy firing and mortar shelling by Pakistani troops since October 1.

The spiraling incidents of ceasefire violation by Pakistani troops had left at least eight people dead and over 94 injured, including 13 security personnel.