ISLAMABAD: Federal Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan said on Tuesday the process of dialogue with Taliban was likely to begin in the near future.

In this regard, the preliminary work had been completed in consultation with the stakeholders, he said while addressing participants of the 99th National Management Course for senior officers here.

The minister said the National Counter-Terrorism Authority (Nacta) would be revived as a major organisation and coordination among intelligence agencies would be improved by creating a joint intelligence directorate. He said a rapid response force would also be created, having an air-wing, to urgently tackle any terrorism-related emergency.

The minister said the society was facing degeneration for which all people were responsible.

“Mere cosmetic surgery is not enough but working beyond the call of duty is required to tackle this malaise,” he said.

He said that societal problems and ills were not hard to identify and the civil servants were required to rise to the occasion.

He asked participants of the course not to think of themselves as government servants but as servants of the state.

The minister briefed participants on the role and actions of the ministry and its attached departments. He also talked about the steps that were planned to be taken in the future.

The participants were also given an overview of the upcoming National Internal Security Policy, and the structural changes that would be brought along with it. The minister also briefed them on the government’s stance on security-related issues.

Mr Khan also informed the participants about the policy to control drug trafficking and improved coordination between the Ministry of Narcotics Control and the Anti-Narcotics Force.

He further stressed that regional cooperation was required and routes of drug traffickers needed to be constantly monitored.

The minister told participants that laws regarding evidence were being strengthened and the matter was already being addressed through promulgation of a new ordinance to improve the role of law-enforcement agencies in interrogation and prosecution process. — APP