Russian invasion of Ukraine must be stopped: Pak army chief

Pakistan's Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Bajwa on Saturday said that Russia's invasion of Ukraine must be "stopped immediately", terming it a great tragedy.

Speaking at the Islamabad Security Dialogue, Gen Bajwa expressed Pakistan's serious concern over the conflict, adding that "despite legitimate security concerns of Russia, its aggression against a smaller country cannot be condoned."

"Pakistan has consistently called for an immediate ceasefire and cessation of hostilities. We support immediate dialogue between all sides to find a lasting solution to the conflict," he added, reports Dawn News.

He said the Russian invasion of Ukraine was very unfortunate as thousands of people had been killed, millions made refugees and "half of Ukraine destroyed".

The army chief said the conflict gave hope to smaller countries that they could still defend their territory with smaller but agile forces against aggression by a bigger country by carrying out selective modernatisation of equipment.

He noted that Pakistan had enjoyed excellent defence and economic relationships with Ukraine since its independence but relations with Russia were "cold" for a long time because of numerous reasons. However, some positive developments in this regard had taken place recently, he added.