Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur criticized the federal government for rejecting his earlier proposal to join talks with the Afghan interim government, but now it is following the same strategy to resolve issues with Kabul itself.
Speaking to the media at the Chief Minister’s House, Ali Amin Gandapur said that his call for direct talks with Afghanistan was rejected and his statement was taken out of context. Without naming anyone, he said that when he disagreed earlier, he was forced to speak because Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is a province suffering from these issues.
He said that ‘now the federal government has contacted me and said that the issues (with the Afghan interim government) will not be resolved without talks,’ while expressing regret that he has not seen any seriousness from the federal government so far.
The Chief Minister stressed that Afghanistan, being a neighboring country, should join the talks as the law and order situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa cannot be resolved without talks.
Referring to the militants, Ali Amin Gandapur said that an estimated 16 to 18 thousand ‘elements’ are operating on the Pakistani side of the border, while 22 to 24 thousand are present across the border in Afghanistan.
He said that action against cross-border militants cannot be taken because once they enter Afghan territory, they are beyond Pakistan’s reach.
The Chief Minister also stressed that Pakistan cannot afford to have a conflict with Afghanistan and try to resolve issues at the same time, especially considering Afghanistan’s past successful resistance against superpowers like the US and the Soviet Union.
He also criticized the Afghan interim government, which he said has failed to maintain peace within its borders. He acknowledged that several international elements are active in Afghanistan, contributing to the long-standing instability in the border region.
Ali Amin Gandapur said that the entire country should acknowledge the sacrifices of the residents of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as it was on the frontline, preventing militants from advancing from the province as in the past militants had carried out attacks in Lahore, Karachi, Islamabad and Rawalpindi.
He reiterated the importance of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as the political hub of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), saying that political campaigns would be run from the province.
