Pakistan Was In No Position To Fight War With India: Recalling Ex-Pak Army Chief's Historic Fears

At a time when tensions between India and Pakistan are at a peak, it is pertinent to recollect how, ex-Pakistan Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa had once reportedly admitted in a private meeting with journalists that Pakistan's military was in no position to engage in full-scale war with India.

The disclosure, reportedly made in 2021, offers a rare window into the internal calculations of the Pakistani military amid prolonged regional tensions. 

In a closed-door interaction with over two dozen media professionals, Bajwa is said to have laid bare the harsh realities facing the Pakistan Army — from outdated equipment and logistical constraints to a severe shortage of fuel and spare parts. 

The admission were made at a time when Islamabad and New Delhi were quietly working through backchannels to restore the 2003 ceasefire along the Line of Control, eventually formalised in February 2021..

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“There is no way we could sustain a full-scale conflict with India,” Bajwa told the assembled journalists. Mir, who disclosed details of the meeting in a recent television interview, suggested the Army Chief’s remarks were not just a strategic recalibration — they amounted to a sobering reality check.

According to Pakistani journalist Hamid Mir, the same message was delivered at a separate briefing at Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry, where several retired foreign secretaries were present. 

He also claimed that Bajwa had foreknowledge of India’s move to revoke Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir in August 2019. 

When Farooq Haider, then the prime minister of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (POK), pushed for an immediate military response, Bajwa is said to have dismissed the idea outright, reiterating Pakistan’s lack of readiness.

Prominent television anchor Nasim Zehra reportedly argued that Bajwa’s statements warranted a court-martial, accusing him of undermining the Pakistani military’s capabilities. Other journalists, including Javed Chaudhry, have earlier recounted similar remarks made by the former Army Chief, including reports of a secret plan to put the Kashmir dispute on the back burner for two decades.