Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Pervaiz Rashid on Friday expressed hope that dialogue with the Taliban would produce positive results in order to restore peace and tranquility in the country.
The government was exercising the option of talks with the Taliban as proposed and endorsed by the All Parties Conference. While speaking in a PTV programme, the minister said that the Taliban had showed willingness to hold dialogue and the government welcomed it and responded with a positive gesture. He alleged that previous regimes did not take serious steps for addressing militancy and ending the energy crisis. He was of the view that sensitive issues should not be discussed in media talk shows. To a question, he said Pakistan was following the policy of non-interference in other country’s affairs and no one would be allowed to interfere in Pakistan’s matters as well.
Talking about the country’s foreign policy, the minister said international community appreciated the vision of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
He said the recent meeting between prime ministers of India and Pakistan remained successful as Manmohan Singh responded positively.
Pervaiz Rashid said some elements tried to sabotage the New York meeting and an attempt was also made to disrupt Pak-China relations, but they failed.
To another query, he said the government had in principle decided to open Youtube as it was an effective source of knowledge for students.
The minister said objectionable material published on Youtube should be blocked instead of imposing a ban on the site.