LAHORE: Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif on Monday expressed optimism about the outcome of peace talks with Taliban. I will personally supervise the talks process while Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali will assist me, said the prime minister while talking to mediamen at Alhamra Arts Council here after a meeting with senior journalists and columnists.

He said, It is my utmost desire that the committees formed by the government and the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan make a headway in the talks. He said the government was preferring to resolve all issues through dialogue to save the country from further crises. Nawaz Sharif said the government wanted to settle all issues through dialogue with India, Afghanistan and other countries for durable peace in the region.

On the Balochistan issue, he said, Chief Minister Dr Abdul Malik Baloch will take all stakeholders on board for durable peace in the province in the larger interest of the country.

He said he was confident that the Balochistan government would resolve all issues and his support and cooperation would always be with them. Replying to a query, he said his government had inherited all problems from the previous regimes and was striving hard to resolve them by taking measures through comprehensive policies.

Answering another quetion, Nawaz Sharif said the national economy had improved remarkably owing to prudent policies and measures adopted by the government.

Earlier, the prime minster held a meeting with senior journalists, columnists and intellectuals, including Ataul Haq Qasmi, Mujeeb ur Rehman Shami, Rauf Kalasra, Najam Sethi, Ata ur Rehman, Masood Ashar, Sajid Mir and Sohail Warraich and discussed matters of national importance.

(APP)