Pak's intrusions on borders triggered 1965 war: Durrani

Islamabad, Sep 14 (PTI) Forty-four years after the
1965 Indo-Pak war, a retired Pakistani General has endorsed
the Indian position that it was his country that had started
the "intrusions."

Maj Gen (retd) Mahmud Ali Durrani, who participated
in the war along the Punjab border and rose to be the military
secretary to late President Zia ul-Haq and served later as
National Security Adviser, said: "we started the intrusions on
the borders and I think we should think about the Indian
response at that time."

The Indian Army launched a full-fledged war in 1965
because "low-level skirmishes were started from this
(Pakistan) side", he said.

The high-level military command was not involved in "a
strategy to disturb India" but politicians knew about what was
happening along the border, Durrani told a TV news channel.
The then foreign minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto too had no idea
that India would cross the international border.

At the same time he said Pakistan did not "achieve
anything" from going to wars with India in the past.

Durrani said his country should extend a hand of
friendship towards the neighbour to settle the outstanding
issues. "We should extend (a hand of) friendship towards
India, and start peace talks to settle disputes."

68-year-old Durrani was sacked by Prime Minister
Yousuf Raza Gilani after he told journalists that Ajmal Kasab,
the lone terrorist arrested for the Mumbai attacks, was a
Pakistani national. PTI RHL
DDC