ISPR DG suggests Indian army chief should follow 'Gen Bajwa's vision for regional peace'

Published February 23, 2019
Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor calls on India "to unfollow enmity with Pakistan". — ISPR/File
Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor calls on India "to unfollow enmity with Pakistan". — ISPR/File

Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor, taking a dig at Indian Army Chief Gen Bipin Rawat's comments that he 'follows' his Pakistani counterpart Gen Qamar Bajwa, suggested on Saturday that it would be "even better if he [Rawat] follows Gen Bajwa’s vision for regional peace, stability and progress".

Ghafoor, the director general of Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), shared on Twitter a video clip of Rawat's interview, in which the Indian army chief is asked about his "views" on Gen Bajwa. "I follow him very well. I follow him in whatever he says," replies Gen Rawat. "I keep taking up feedback on him. I follow where he goes. I know where he visits [...] I do follow him [...] and he is the chief of the Pakistan Army so I have to follow him."

"Indian COAS says that he follows Pakistan Army Chief. Even better would be if he follows General Bajwa’s vision for regional peace, stability and progress," said Major Gen Ghafoor in his tweet.

"For that India has to unfollow enmity with Pakistan," he added, using wordplay with the social media term 'unfollow' that refers to unsubscribing from an account.

A day earlier, the ISPR DG held a press conference in Rawalpindi, during which he reiterated Prime Minister Imran Khan's proposal of talks to Delhi.

Pakistan and India's relations have been tense since the Pulwama attack on February 14, with the latter blaming the former of being complicit in the attack — a charge Islamabad has denied from the get-go.

Delhi also announced that it would launch a diplomatic offensive to isolate Pakistan in the international community.

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