ISLAMABAD – Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi called out Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, saying he repeatedly refused to politically support operations against terrorists, saying he could not afford such a move politically.
Addressing a joint session of Parliament, Naqvi claimed that the federal government had made repeated efforts to secure the KP government’s cooperation in counterterrorism operations but failed to persuade the provincial leadership to take ownership of the fight.
“We wanted this to be Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s fight. We simply wanted you to lead it, but the provincial government was not ready to take the lead,” Naqvi said, alleging that the provincial leadership had also failed to publicly condemn terrorism.
Naqvi claimed that Sohail Afridi had repeatedly expressed reluctance to support counterterrorism operations for political reasons. The interior minister said he had personally met Afridi several times and had agreed with him on strengthening police forces in five districts so they could take action against militants.
“I personally settled this matter with Sohail Afridi,” Naqvi said, adding that questions remained about who was influencing the chief minister after their meetings. Naqvi further claimed that the federal government had been trying since August, September or even earlier to secure the provincial government’s cooperation against terrorism, but the efforts had not produced the desired results.
Addressing speculation surrounding governor’s rule and the possible imposition of an emergency in parts of KP, Naqvi insisted that the federal government had not wanted to take such measures. He said the government had continued trying until the final hour to prevent an emergency from being imposed in 12 districts.
“We are not happy about governor’s rule or an emergency. The federal government take no pleasure in it,” he said, over such measures. Naqvi also rejected the suggestion that the government was exploiting terrorism for political purposes, saying that federal representatives had attended funeral prayers in Peshawar while, according to him, provincial government representatives were absent.
He cited the deaths of security personnel in Bannu and alleged that the chief minister had delivered a speech against the army the following day.
In a separate part of his address, Naqvi rejected claims that the federal government had abandoned negotiations with the opposition. He said the government had neither withdrawn from the talks nor imposed a deadline, insisting that it had repeatedly returned to the negotiating table.
According to Naqvi, the opposition had presented a document containing conditions that it said had been proposed by the KP government. He claimed the federal side had accepted those conditions, with the final point added by the government.
Naqvi maintained that he had personally intervened whenever KP faced financial difficulties, taking the provincial chief minister to the prime minister in an effort to resolve outstanding issues.
He renewed his offer of negotiations with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, urging senior party leaders to meet the government with the authority to make decisions. “Let PTI’s senior leaders come and talk. They should come with the authority to make decisions, and we will also come with authority from our prime minister. Whatever is agreed upon will be decided there and then,” he said.
Naqvi made clear that the government wanted negotiations to produce immediate decisions rather than agreements that would subsequently require approval from party leadership.
Mohsin Naqvi says government took no action outside constitutional limits
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