KARACHI, Oct 20: The Joint Chief of Staff Committee Chairman, Gen Ehsanul Haq, has said that the international and regional environment demands the highest level of vigilance and military preparedness and Pakistan is fully aware of these imperatives.

He said that Pakistan had no aggressive designs against anyone. We seek peace with all neighbours, but a peace with honour, he said while addressing the graduation ceremony of the Air Defence Staff Course held at the School of Army Air Defence at Malir Cantonment, says an ISPR press release on Friday.

Gen Ehsan said, our desire for peace should not be misconstrued as a sign of weakness; it is a strategy of defensive deterrence. We also seek the peaceful resolution of all disputes with our neighbours including Kashmir.

Addressing the graduating officers, the JCSC chairman said that the importance of Air Defence in modern warfare needed no emphasis. Today’s modern armies completely relied on joint operational concepts and integrated arms, he said. Air Defence is one arm which is employed in all operations, he added saying that knowledge of all arms is absolutely essential to Air Defence commanders.

In the end, Chairman JCSC, who is also the Colonel in Chief of Army Air Defence, congratulated the graduating officers for their hard work and commitment.

The Colonel in Chief’s Medal for overall best performance in the course was awarded to Capt Adnan Shafi while the Colonel Commandant’s Medal and the medal for best research work was given to Capt Sohail Ahmed.

The School of Army Air Defence has recently been affiliated with the University of Karachi for the award of MSc degree in Military Sciences. This was the first batch which received the degrees.

The graduating course also included officers from Bangladesh, Nigeria, Zimbabwe and Myanmar.

Corps Commander Lt-Gen Ahsan Azhar Hayat, Army Air Defence Commander Maj-Gen Tahir Mahmood Qazi, and senior military officers attended the ceremony.—APP