Commenting on the uneasy relationship that currently exists between the civilian government in Pakistan and the military, former ISI director general Lt Gen (r) Asad Durrani has said that throughout the history of this country, there has been a problem between the military and civilian government.
In an exclusive interview published in SOUTHASIA Magazine, Durrani says that the military has always played a role in this part of the world given the Indian and the Kashmir problem since the civilian structure was not in place to take charge of the situation and lacked the ability to create robust structures.
Asked about his views on the Pakistani strategy of conducting peace talks with the Taliban, he said that essentially it was a combination of military operations and persuasion.
He said that since the Taliban insurgents had been sufficiently weakened, pacified or were suffering from problems within, reaching a deal now might be possible, adding that a military operation or some clandestine operation was also underway.