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Lt-Gen Pasha rubbished conjectures about a meeting Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, the army chief, had with US military officials on board the aircraft carrier, USS Abraham Lincoln, in August. The ISI chief had accompanied the COAS to the meeting. The western media were rife with speculations that the two sides had reached a tacit understanding that Pakistan would allow the US military to carry out drone attacks in the tribal area.
The general denied that this was the case. "We never discussed that, nor did we agree to it,"? he explained, shaking his head. "But to be honest, what can we do against the drone attacks? Should we fight the Americans or attack an Afghan post because that's where the drones are coming from? Can we win this? Does it benefit Pakistan?"
Gen Pasha also explained to the magazine why he was unwilling to crack down on the Taliban leadership. "Shouldn't they be allowed to think and say what they please? They believe that jihad is their obligation.
"Isn't that freedom of opinion?" he asked in a rhetorical tone.
He defended Pakistan's cooperation with the West in the "war on terror," asserting that "by working together, everyone will be able to defeat terror." "But it will not," he hastened to add, "happen punctually and according to plan, as is customary in Germany."Source: dawn.com
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