Zardari hopes talks with India will resume after LS polls

President Asif Ali Zardari has said he is hopeful that the dialogue between Pakistan and India, stalled in the wake of the Mumbai terror attacks, would resume after the general election in the neighbouring country.

Zardari claimed that his "bold peace overtures" to India had received "no positive response".

In an interview with Dunya TV channel, he said the Mumbai terrorist attacks stalled the peace talks but he hoped the dialogue would resume after the elections in India.

He also noted that there had been a significant increase in the Indian defence budget. India hiked its defence spending by 24 per cent in the current fiscal.

Referring to Pakistan's concerns about the perceived increase in Indian influence in Afghanistan, Zardari said a number of international intelligence agencies were involved in "spy games" in Kabul and there is a need for global consensus to end this practice.

Zardari also said the US has assured Pakistan that it will not carry out drone attacks in the Balochistan province. "Not only the people of Pakistan but also the government is concerned over the drone attacks," he said.

The US has incorporated several of Pakistan's suggestions in its new policy for Afghanistan but the two countries disagreed on the drone strikes. However Washington "has assured us it will not carry out drone attacks in Balochistan," he said.

The government is looking at the results of the peace deal in the Swat valley and future decisions will be made accordingly. The NWFP government believed religious hardliner Sufi Muhammad, whose group signed a deal with authorities to usher in peace in Swat, was "reconcilable", Zardari said.

The Taliban now control almost the whole of Swat and Sufi Muhammad has set up Islamic courts in the region though the president is yet to approve regulations for implementing Islamic laws in the area.

Zardari said his government wanted to develop consensus in parliament on how to solve the problems in Balochistan and hoped the issue would be resolved by the end of this year.

He said the number of "missing people" – or persons detained without charge by security agencies – in Balochistan was neither in the thousands nor in the hundreds.

"There are a few people," he said, adding they would be released after the due process of law.

Asked about his decision to run for president despite being the chief of the ruling Pakistan People's Party, Zardari said he had his sight "on a senior PPP leader...from Sindh" but the party decided he was more suitable candidate. Zardari said he believed in the supremacy of parliament and was ready to give up his powers for the purpose.

Zardari said his government wanted to reinstate Supreme Court chief justice Iftikhar Chaudhry after the retirement of justice Abdul Hamid Dogar because he could not constitutionally remove a chief justice.

Asked why he had not included that in his agreement with PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif, Zardari said he had only made a "political understanding" with Sharif who had been "a little aggressive".

Asked if he was ready to resolve the issue of the Sharif's electoral eligibility through an ordinance, he said his legal advisers believed the President could end punishment with a pardon but could not end a conviction by a court.

Replying to a question on whether his government would try former military ruler Pervez Musharraf for treason, Zardari said the PPP believed in "looking forward" in line with slain chairperson Benazir Bhutto's policy of reconciliation.