Islamabad, Oct 1 : Political options should be availed to resolve internal irritants and conflicts instead of engaging the Pakistan Army in military operations against its own people, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani reportedly told politicians at the All Parties Conference.

On Thursday, the Pakistan Government convened the nine-hour-long APC to demonstrate national unity in the face of what were perceived as threats by the United States.

At the APC, Kayani showed his opposition to military operations and said that such options do not always pay, and prove counter-productive, The News quoted sources, as saying.

The COAS suggested to the APC that betting on political options was the best way to resolve conflicts, they said.

The army could be called in aid of the civil administration as a last option, but it should always be the political option that should be preferred over military action, they added.

Kayani admitted that the military only sees white and black, and there are no grey areas for it, whereas in politics it is the grey area that really matters and gives politicians a lot of room to effectively deal with issues, the paper said, attributing to a source who attended the APC.

The option of engaging army in military operations, one after the other, does not work without political interventions, he added.

The APC, too, opposed the option of military action in North Waziristan as demanded by the United States.

Instead, the APC approved a paradigm shift in the present policy on the war on terror as it asked for the initiation of dialogue process with the Taliban in tribal areas by emphasising “peace and reconciliation” as focus of the new policy. (ANI)