ISLAMABAD, Oct 31: A corps commanders’ conference has been convened on November 7 to discuss national security issues, including Monday’s air strike on Bajaur that claimed 82 lives.
Sources told Dawn that the conference, to be presided over by President Gen Pervez Musharraf, would discuss critical local and international issues, particularly law and order situation in the country and the centre-provinces relations.
The president will brief the conference about latest developments in Pakistan’s relations with the US and India, with special reference to the ongoing open and back channel talks with India. The talks are aimed at removing troops from Siachin and signing an agreement on Sir Creek.
When contacted, military spokesman Maj-Gen Shaukat Sultan confirmed that the conference would discuss the situation arising out of the Bajaur air raid.
However, he said that the conference had been earlier scheduled and it was not specifically convened to discuss missile attack in Bajaur. “But this is an important issue and will be discussed thoroughly”, the ISRP chief said.
He defended the attack and said it was conducted by Pakistani forces and not by US or any other foreign forces. He said that the Bajaur operation was conducted to thwart military training being imparted to militants and claimed that those killed were not innocent people as being described by opposition parties.
He said that the situation in the (Pukhtun tribal areas) would not aggravate due to the air strike as the NWFP governor and others concerned were trying to resolve disputes through dialogue.
“The government has not closed its doors for dialogue”, he said, admitting that military operation was not the best option to resolve issues and that political means had to be adopted to deal with issues.
“You can only buy time by conducting operation against the militants but the best way would be to deal with them politically as has been stated by President Musharraf,” he said.
“Military solution is not a solution” he said and added that they the best way to deal with the people in the tribal areas was political.