Federal govt barred CM Gandapur from dialogue with Afghanistan: Barrister Saif

PESHAWAR
Advisor to Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Information and Public Relations, Barrister Dr. Saif, has urged the federal government to abandon what he termed its “dual policy” towards Punjab and KP.
He said that while Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz was granted permission for foreign visits, Chief Minister Ali Amin Khan Gandapur was being barred from engaging in dialogue with Afghanistan, an “open contradiction.”
“Just as the Punjab chief minister is allowed external visits, KP also has the full right to engage with Afghanistan. The people of our province want peace, and for that, dialogue with Afghanistan is inevitable. The law-and-order situation here is directly linked with developments in Afghanistan,” Barrister Saif maintained.
The advisor revealed that the KP government had already forwarded Terms of Reference (TORs) for negotiations with Afghanistan to the federal government, but the federation had so far maintained “complete silence.”
Highlighting provincial initiatives, he said CM Ali Amin Gandapur had constituted tribal jirgas for peace in the merged districts, while a grand jirga would also be convened to present comprehensive recommendations.
“Under the leadership of Chief Minister Gandapur, the KP government is taking serious measures to establish peace across the province, but the federal government must also play its role,” he stressed.
“Terrorism is not just a problem of KP but of the entire country. The federation should stand with KP in this struggle instead of treating the province like a stepchild,” he concluded.