ISLAMABAD: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur on Friday said that the party’s top leadership fully supports the ongoing talks with the coalition government for the sake of the country as national interest is their top priority.
Talking to journalists after the meeting of the National Action Plan (NAP) Apex Committee, he said: “Pakistan is our top priority and we will hold talks for its sake.”
The sources privy to the meeting told Business Recorder that the chief minister had a heated exchange with the prime minister after the latter refuted the claims that shots were fired on the PTI protesters on November 26 last year.
The sources said a “heated exchange of words” took place between Gandapur and the prime minister during the meeting, which was also attended by the army chief and other top military officials.
A visibly upset Gandapur reportedly urged the prime minister to form a judicial commission if he believed that no shots were fired on PTI protesters on November 26. However, some cabinet members intervened to de-escalate the situation.
When asked about the prime minister’s remarks during the NAP Apex Committee meeting, he said that the prime minister should not deny the facts that shots were fired during the crackdown on the PTI protesters.
“Such comments are inappropriate for a man who is the chief executive of the country,” he added.
Following the police crackdown on the PTI’s November 26 protest in the federal capital, the former ruling party claimed that 13 of its supporters were killed, 58 were injured and 45 are still missing. Five law enforcers - four Rangers personnel and a policeman - were also killed in the clashes with the protesters.
Replying to a question, Gandapur said that the nation along with the security institutions would eradicate the menace of terrorism from the country.
Meanwhile, addressing a press conference, Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) chief Mahmood Khan Achakzai along with PTI leader Asad Qaiser and Raja Nasir Abbas of Majlis-e-Wahdatul Muslimeen (MWM) demanded ‘restoration of the constitution’ and return of the mandate allegedly stolen in the general elections.
He stressed the need for a roundtable conference involving all key institutions to address the critical challenges facing the nation.
Raja Nasir Abbas highlighted former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s assertion that the rule of law is fundamental to the country’s progress.
“The nation is facing political, economic and other crises due to the incompetence of the present government, which has further plunged the country into turmoil,” he added.
Abbas criticised former foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and then finance minister Ishaq Dar for neglecting diplomatic visits to Afghanistan after coming to power following the ouster of Imran Khan.
Referring to the Kurram conflict, he said it could have been resolved within a week, but the delays showed the inefficiency of the provincial government and institutions.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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