Peshawar: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur has said that he wants to meet the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) today after the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) repeatedly warned against holding talks to end political instability.
Speaking to reporters in Rawalpindi after meeting PTI founder Imran Khan, who was jailed in Adiala jail on Monday, CM Gandapur said that the former chief minister always offered lectures.
He lamented that no one had responded to Khan’s call for talks, adding that so far there had been no negotiations with the authorities or the federal government.
Reaffirming PTI’s condition for political talks, Head of KP said the situation for talks will not change. He said he wanted the former ruling party to return the stolen mandate and set up an investigation team into the May 9 riots.
“I want to meet the army chief and DG ISI,” CM Gandapur said, adding that he has met senior military figures on various occasions and there has not been a single meeting between them.
New anti-terror operation – Azm-e-Istehkam criticized the federal government and said that no [military] operation was mentioned in the summit committee meeting.
CM Gandapur said that he will talk about the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) policy at another time on whether the operation will be carried out or not.
However, he credited the PTI government for improving law and order as the previous administration strengthened all law enforcement agencies, including the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD).
Recalling the events that took place under the PTI government, he said that former Prime Minister Khan visited Afghanistan and held talks with President Ashraf Ghani.
He also said that the then ISI chief Lt. General Faiz Hamid was in touch with the Afghan government during the three years of PTI rule. However, Army General Qamar Javed Bajwa removed Hamid as the ISI chief.
He stressed the need for all provinces and stakeholders to take important decisions with confidence.
He said, the number of terrorist incidents has increased and he said that the threat of terrorism is increasing to find a solution through dialogue. He offered PTI’s support to the federal government “if it wants to hold talks with Afghanistan”.
To a question about the KP government’s stand on power-related issues, CM Gandapur said the state should not be blamed for the huge losses. He also accused the Center of defaulting on the KP government’s payment of $1.510 billion.
He defended his decision to take a tough stand against the federal government because of the many issues loaded in the KP. The prime minister has warned federal authorities that they will “retaliate” if their demands are no longer met.
PTI open for talks: KP CM Gandapur
