PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi has called on the federal government to engage in dialogue, saying political differences can be settled through mutual understanding.
The offer came a day after the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) postponed its planned Islamabad march from September 27 to October 4.
Addressing senior journalists in Peshawar on Saturday, Afridi said the government should not wait for the protest to take place before initiating negotiations.
“If the federal government wants to resolve the issue within seven days, it should do so through mutual understanding,” he said.
The chief minister questioned the rationale behind holding talks only after the march, asking why negotiations could not begin beforehand.
“Our objective is to resolve the issue,” Afridi said.
He explained that the PTI’s political committee had decided to provide the government additional time, describing the postponement as part of the party’s strategy.
Afridi also said the PTI would welcome Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman if he decided to join the protest.
“If Maulana Fazlur Rehman comes to us, we will welcome him,” he said.
On his own position as KP chief minister, Afridi said he remained committed to PTI founder Imran Khan, even if he were to lose the office.
“If I am disqualified, the PTI founder will decide my replacement,” he said.
PTI calls postponement a political strategy
Earlier, PTI KP information secretary Shaukat Yousafzai said the decision to defer the Islamabad march until October 4 was a deliberate political move.
Talking to reporters in Peshawar, Yousafzai said the deployment of a large number of police personnel and placement of containers by the federal government had prompted the party to revise its strategy.
“We have changed our political strategy. We support a peaceful struggle,” he said.
Yousafzai maintained that the federal government would ultimately have to engage with the PTI at the negotiating table. He urged the authorities to set aside what he termed “ego, stubbornness and the intoxication of political power”.
“The government negotiates, but it does so on television channels,” he said, adding that the PTI was ready for meaningful talks if the government made a practical offer.
The PTI leader reiterated that one of the party’s key demands was for Imran Khan, who is incarcerated, to receive medical treatment in accordance with court orders.
He also accused the federal government of interfering in provincial affairs, arguing that the 18th Amendment limits federal intervention in matters falling within the provinces’ domain.
“Provincial ministers are being picked up here. The federal government has created a law of the jungle,” Yousafzai alleged.
He further criticised Federal Minister Attaullah Tarar’s remarks about CM Afridi and referred to previous comments by Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz concerning the provinces.
