Interior minister accuses KP CM of attempting to sabotage PTI-govt talks

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi on Sunday accused Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi of attempting to sabotage negotiations between the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and the federal government.

The statement comes after the second round of government-opposition talks ended in deadlock on Saturday night, with the opposition refusing to withdraw its October 4 long march unless its representatives were first allowed to meet jailed former prime minister and PTI founder Imran Khan.

The talks continued for more than eight hours at the chambers of National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq, with the government and opposition failing to reach an agreement over the proposed long march and a meeting with Khan.

Addressing a press conference in Lahore, Naqvi clarified that the government had not asked the opposition to postpone the long march.

“There had been no request from our side for the long march to be postponed,” he said, adding that the issue was not a condition set by the government.

“When we had the first meeting, we told them that the long march was not an issue for us. However, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto had already given an indication and had also given a date. A day earlier, he had said that the PPP wanted the long march to be postponed and for the temperature to be brought down,” Naqvi added.

According to the interior minister, the negotiations involved two separate agreements – a “main agreement” covering matters being discussed with opposition parties and another specifically focused on counterterrorism.

Naqvi said he had asked CM Afridi to bring the KP government on board, arguing that the security challenges being faced were linked to the provincial government.

“I requested CM Afridi to onboard the KP government because, definitely, the problems we are facing are coming from the KP government. He said, ‘Okay, I am going now,’ so we postponed the meeting until tomorrow. All members agreed to the postponement,” he said.

The opposition delegation subsequently held around four hours of talks with Afridi, after which the KP chief minister conveyed his feedback and authorised the team to proceed with whatever was finalised with him, Naqvi said.

He claimed the KP government had agreed to sign a written agreement and submit an implementation plan within 72 hours covering several counterterrorism measures.

These included reconsidering the Police Act 2026 in light of the security situation, preventing terrorists from operating freely or establishing safe havens in KP, and unequivocally condemning the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Tehreek-e-Taliban Afghanistan (TTA) and other terrorist groups.

The proposed commitments also covered support for the national policy on Afghan refugees, including their repatriation and dismantling of Afghan camps in KP; no contact with the interim Afghan government; increased funding for counterterrorism operations and police; and full provincial ownership of counterterrorism measures.

They further included enhanced cooperation with the armed forces, provincial decisions on counterterrorism in former FATA and the merged districts, and implementation of the National Action Plan.

Naqvi alleged that the KP government subsequently backed out of these commitments during the final phase of Saturday’s negotiations.

“Security must not be politicised while the province is at war,” he said.

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In a statement on X, Naqvi said the KP government had agreed to sign a written agreement and submit an implementation plan within 72 hours, but withdrew from the commitments during last night’s talks.

The proposed commitments included reconsideration of the Police Act 2026 in view of the security situation, preventing terrorists from operating freely or finding safe havens in the province, and an unequivocal condemnation of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Tehreek-e-Taliban Afghanistan (TTA) and other terrorist groups.

The agreement also covered support for the national policy on Afghan refugees, including repatriation and dismantling Afghan camps in KP, no contact with the interim Afghan government, substantial funding for counterterrorism operations and police, and full provincial ownership of counterterrorism measures.

It further called for stronger cooperation between the provincial government and armed forces, provincial decisions on counterterrorism in former FATA and merged districts, and implementation of the National Action Plan.

“Security must not be politicised while the province is at war,” Naqvi said.

His statement came a day after the second round of government-opposition talks ended in deadlock, with the opposition refusing to withdraw its October 4 long march unless its representatives were first allowed to meet jailed former prime minister and PTI founder Imran Khan.

The talks, held at the chambers of National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq, continued for more than eight hours but failed to produce an agreement. The government insisted that the opposition first call off the protest, while the opposition demanded a meeting with Khan involving opposition leaders and KP Chief Minister Sohail Afridi.

Meanwhile, preparations for the long march continued, with Afridi announcing that its first phase would begin from Lakki Marwat on Sunday before proceeding through southern districts towards Peshawar.

The protest is being organised against the backdrop of heightened security concerns in KP, where security forces have been conducting operations against terrorists.