ISLAMABAD: Minister for Interior and Narcotics Control Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan on Thursday expressed optimism about progress in talks with the Pakistani Taliban and said a meeting would be held soon to review the dialogue process.

The statement came the same day when the government denied reports that it has released prisoners of the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in a bid to revive peace talks with the militant group.

Foreign news agency Reuters had reported officials as saying that the government had released 16 Taliban prisoners to invigorate the shaky peace process with the TTP.

Speaking at the launching ceremony of a think tank “Center for Policy Research and Dialogue,” Chaudhry Nisar said Pakistan will become peaceful because of the efforts made by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government.

Criticizing the regimes of military ruler Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), the minister alleged that former rulers imposed a war on Pakistan for 12 years to serve foreign interests.

This war continued for over a decade and nobody held talks to resolve the conflict, he added.

Praising efforts of the government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, the interior minister said the government started talks and just in few months ‘headway’ was made in it.

“Now those people, who did not take any step to initiate talks, are raising objections and resorting to criticism,” he added.

Chaudhry Nisar said facts should not be distorted, adding that no acts of terrorism took place from 2001 to 2004 in the tribal areas.

No Pakistani or tribesman was involved in the incident of 9/11 but rulers of that time dragged innocent people into the war on terror, he said, adding that millions in FATA were displaced from their homes in the previous years.

Referring to his ministry’s refusal to strike Pervez Musharraf’s name off the Exit Control List (ECL), Chaudhry Nisar said the government has taken its position on the issue, without elaborating it any further.

Speaking about ethical standards of the society, the interior minister said people have stopped differentiating between right and wrong and truth and falsehood.

He said the rulers should adopt the strictest standards of accountability as it was necessary for stopping degeneration in society.

The minister appreciated Adnan Kakakhel, the head of the think tank, for his courageous stand during the rule of the last military dictator.

Justice (retd) Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani and other speakers stressed on the importance of dialogue for ending violent conflicts in society.