- APC will evaluate the performance of the provincial government: Kundi.
- KP governor hints at possibility of imposing governor’s rule.
- He lamented the lack of relief provided by the KP government to the residents of Kurram.
An All Parties Conference (APC) is scheduled to be held today (Thursday) in Peshawar at the Governor’s House to discuss the peace situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, particularly in Kurram.
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), which governs the province and led by Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, announced that it would boycott the APC, convened by KP Governor Faisal Karim Kundi.
“The PPP (Pakistan People’s Party) has no mandate within the KP (…) it wants to organize a lifeless exhibition meeting to present itself as a democratic party,” the PTI declared the day before in a press release.
The recent episode of clashes in Kurram, triggered by an ambush against two separate convoys under police escort in November, left more than 130 people dead. However, a ceasefire is now in effect, allowing life to return to normal in the district.
Meanwhile, addressing a press conference on Wednesday, Governor Kundi said leaders of some 16 political parties had given their consent to attend the APC.
The governor said he had personally invited leaders of all parties, adding that political leaders were concerned about the deteriorating situation in Kurram as neither the provincial cabinet nor the assembly had taken up the issue.
He said the main objective of convening the APC was to discuss the current situation in Kurram with political allies and find an amicable and lasting solution.
Kundi appreciated all the politicians who accompanied him to Kohat to participate in a Jirga on the Kurram situation.
He lamented the apathy of the provincial government in resolving provincial issues and pointed out that when people were being killed in Kurram, the CM and his cabinet members focused on violent protests.
The governor, leader of the Pakistan People’s Party, lamented that except KP, no one from Punjab and Sindh showed up for the PTI protest call on November 24.
He questioned the priorities of the provincial government, pointing out that millions of rupees had been released in the name of the martyrs, but no tangible help had been provided to the people of Kurram.
Kundi said no help was provided to the displaced families in Kurram by the KP government even though tents, food and necessary aid were provided by the Red Crescent.
Governor’s rule?
Introducing the APC, he said a Jirga would be formed to urge the federal government to prioritize peace and development of the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
He said the APC would also evaluate the performance of the provincial government and warned that if the provincial government continued to fail to discharge its responsibilities, the federal government would be asked to take necessary action.
The governor noted that the federal government could enact the governor’s regulation in the province to address these issues.
The PPP leader further emphasized that maintaining peace and order was the primary responsibility of the CM, who unfortunately had only one agenda to hold protests.
Kundi also criticized the provincial government for passing resolutions against KP Assembly institutions while neglecting to convene a cabinet or assembly meeting to discuss the ongoing crisis in Kurram.
Referring to PTI’s recent protest call in Islamabad, Kundi said workers of the former ruling party were once again misled in Islamabad after Gandapur and PTI founder Imran Khan’s wife Bushra Bibi escaped the scene and left the people to face government repression.
Expressing concerns that most of the PTI leaders from Punjab have taken refuge in Peshawar.
Censoring the arrests of Pashtuns in the federal capital, political leaders who he said were actually responsible for the violent protests, the governor noted that Pashtuns should not be linked to the PTI and that the participation of a limited number of Pashtuns did not mean that the entire community was supporting the party – which he claimed had misled the people of KP in the name of change.
— Additional APP input