KP CM Afridi offers talks to federal govt after PTI postponing Islamabad march

PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Chief Minister Sohail Afridi on Saturday offered talks to the federal government, saying issues could be resolved through mutual understanding.

The offer comes a day after the KP chief executive announced that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's (PTI) long march towards Islamabad, originally scheduled for September 27, had been postponed to October 4.

The former ruling party is preparing for a major protest and march on Islamabad, with the party demanding the release of jailed founder Imran Khan and what it describes as the restoration of constitutional supremacy.

Speaking to senior journalists in Peshawar, CM Afridi said: “If the federal government wants to resolve the issue within seven days, it should do so through mutual understanding.”

He questioned why the government would wait for the long march before holding talks, saying: “If negotiations have to be held after the long march, why not do them before?”

“We want the issue to be resolved,” the chief minister added.

Afridi said the political committee had decided to give the government some time, adding that the delay was also part of the "strategy".

Responding to a question, the provincial chief executive said that they would welcome Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) Chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman if he joins their protest. “If Maulana Fazlur Rehman comes to us, we will welcome him.”

Regarding his position as chief minister, Afridi said he would not be concerned even if he lost the office for Imran Khan.

“If I am disqualified, the PTI founder will decide my replacement,” he said.

PTI KP chapter information secretary Shaukat Yousafzai, earlier in the day, said postponing the planned Islamabad long march to October 4 was "a political strategy" of the party.

Speaking to the media in Peshawar, Yousafzai said that the federal government had brought thousands of police personnel and containers to the area, prompting the PTI to change its political strategy.

"We have changed our political strategy. We support a peaceful struggle," he added.

According to Yousafzai, the federal government would eventually have to come to the negotiating table, urging it to move beyond "ego, stubbornness and the intoxication of political power".

"The government negotiates, but it does so on television channels," he said, adding that the PTI would negotiate if the federal government talked about negotiations in practical terms.

The PTI leader reiterated that the Imran-founded party's demand was that the jailed former prime minister be provided medical treatment in accordance with court orders.

He also criticised what he described as federal interference in provincial matters, saying after the 18th Amendment, the federal government could not interfere in matters concerning the provinces.

"Provincial ministers are being picked up here. The federal government has created a law of the jungle," he said.

Yousafzai condemned Federal Minister Attaullah Tarar's remarks concerning CM Afridi and referred to an earlier statement by Punjab CM Maryam Nawaz regarding the provinces.