• Gandapur criticises federal govt for rejecting his earlier proposal to negotiate
• Says PTI will implement Imran’s call for civil disobedience ‘once they have clarity’
PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur on Sunday criticised the federal government for rejecting his earlier proposal to engage in talks with the Afghan interim government, only to now pursue the same strategy to resolve issues with Kabul.
Speaking to the media at the Chief Minister’s House, Mr Gandapur said his call for direct negotiations with Afghanistan was dismissed and his statement was taken out of context. Without referring to anyone, he said that when they disagreed earlier, he was compelled to speak out because KP is the province bearing the brunt of these issues.
“Now, the federal government has approached me, saying the problems will not be resolved without negotiations (with the Afghan interim government),” he said, regretting that he still did not see any seriousness from the federal government.
The chief minister stressed that Afghanistan, as a neighbouring country, must be engaged in dialogue because the law and order situation in KP could not be resolved without talks.
Referring to militants, Mr Gandapur said that an estimated 16,000 to 18,000 “elements” were operating on the Pakistani side of the border, while 22,000 to 24,000 were present across the border in Afghanistan.
He noted that action could not be taken against militants across the border because once they crossed into Afghan territory, they went out of Pakistan’s reach.
Mr Gandapur also stressed that Pakistan could not afford both a confrontation with Afghanistan and efforts to resolve the issues at the same time, especially keeping in view Afghanistan’s past successful resistance against superpowers like the United States and the Soviet Union.
