LAHORE, Jan 26: Information Minister Muhammad Ali Durrani says Pakistan is keeping all options open to meet its defence requirements and it has already taken steps in this regard keeping in mind the country’s needs for 15 years.

Referring to a new US law seeking to stop military assistance to Pakistan if Islamabad failed to halt the Taliban resurgence in its territory, the minister said: “Pakistan is capable of defending itself and is keeping all its options open. We have already prepared a defence plan bearing in mind what the country will need over the next 15 years.”

The minister was speaking at a programme of the Lahore Press Club on Friday.

He emphatically denied allegations that Pakistan was not doing enough to halt the resurgence of Taliban.

According to him, there was no shift in Pakistan’s stand on the question of recognising Israel. He recalled that King Abdullah, as Crown Prince in 2002, had also proposed a ‘land for peace’ formula for the solution of the Palestine problem.

He rejected as unconstitutional and illegal opposition’s demands about the election of the president. If they had any complaint, he said, the opposition parties should take the matter to the Supreme Court.

When asked if the opposition would be allowed to nominate a serving general as its candidate against Gen Musharraf in the presidential election, Mr Durrani said anybody qualified under the Constitution was free to join the race.

He was all praise for a PPP delegation’s meeting with the Chief Election Commissioner, saying it was the right way to put across one’s point of view about the elections.