Dialogue option still there: Sartaj

Advisor to Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs and National Security Sartaj Aziz has said that dialogue option to carry forward stalled peace process is still there. Talking to media persons after a seminar on "Economic Policies for Inclusive and Sustainable Development in South Asia", jointly organised by SDPI and Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, Pakistan.
Aziz said, "Dialogue option is still there with Taliban and yet not discarded, however due to recent terrorist attacks, the process has been derailed." The advisor said the cabinet meeting on Tuesday (today) would discuss dialogue process with the Taliban as well as an option of operation against them. He said the political leadership would also be taken into confidence. He further said that Pakistan did not have drone technology and only conventional technology was being used in the attacks against militants in tribal areas. Operation or dialogue with Taliban was not US issue, he added.
On the issue of 24 Frontier Constabulary personnel killing, he said that issue had been raised with Afghanistan and they were investigating the matter. Regarding Syria, he said that it was a misconception as there was no basic change in its stance and Pakistan was firm on its principles. The advisor said, "India is not being granted NDMA yet because of non-tariff barriers issues". He added that the two countries had yet to restart composite dialogue. The two sides had expressed satisfaction in the meetings held in Washington over the trade across the Line of Control (LoC), he added. In reply to a question about the reimbursement of Coalition Support Fund (CSF) by the US, he said that Pakistan had received $352 million reimbursement and the rest would be expedited in the next 2-3 months.
Earlier, speaking at the Seminar, Sartaj Aziz expressed the need for fostering greater regional co-operation in South Asia. He observed that while structural reforms were needed in the domestic economy, there was also a need for more open and inclusive policies so as to ensure sustained growth. If Afghanistan became peaceful, energy and trade could be a source of connecting the region.
Federal Minster for Planning, Development and Reforms, Ahsan Iqbal said planned government reforms would focus on an integrated energy reform, modernisation of infrastructure, indigenous resource mobilisation, investments in human and social capital, and institutional reforms for governance. The minister also expressed the government's willingness to expand regional cooperation with all the neighbouring economies, including China, India and Afghanistan.
He further said that there were serious challenges with respect to equal opportunities and development had to be of the people, for people and by the people. We continue to suffer structural imbalances regarding social indicators. He further said that 18th Amendment had compounded these challenges and the PML-N-led government had to work out a new paradigm of governance wherein federal and provincial governments could work jointly for improvement of social indicators. He said that national government had to be responsible at international level on issues like MDGs. He said that the power sector and other public sector organisations were given autonomy after their unbundling with the expectation that their efficiency would improve, but sadly these organisations had misused billion of rupees. Replying to a question, he said that the default like situation had compelled the country to go to the IMF. After energy crisis, water crisis would hurt the country if we did not prepare a long-term roadmap to address the problem.