ISLAMABAD (Kashmir English): Federal Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvihas said that the decision to impose an emergency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was not easy for us.
He added that efforts were made for more than a month to take the provincial government into confidence.
The federal government was trying to unite the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government to fight terrorism.
While holding a press conference in Islamabad along with Law Minister Azam Nazir Tarar, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar and Samar Haroon Bilour, Mohsin Naqvi said that all governments should fight the war against terrorism together; for this purpose, the federal government was in constant contact with the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government, and progress was being made on various issues.
According to the Federal Interior Minister, progress was being made on most of the demands of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf even before its announcement of the long march, while work was also being done on several issues, including meetings.
He raised the question ‘when progress was already being made on the demands and efforts were being made to resolve various issues, then why was the long march announced?’
Federal Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said that negotiations were held between the government and the PTI for two days. The negotiation draft was finalized four times, and 5 to 6 amendments identified by the PTI were also accepted, however, after the draft was agreed upon, a new draft suddenly emerged.
He said that efforts were made to schedule Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s meeting with opposition leaders on September 15 or 16.
The government wanted the Prime Minister to meet the opposition leaders before leaving abroad and bring the situation back to normal.
According to the Federal Interior Minister, during the negotiations, PTI leader Asad Qaiser expressed his determination for a joint struggle against terrorism and made it clear that he would not take a single step back in the war against terrorism. On this occasion, emphasis was placed on including the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government in the joint efforts against terrorism.
He said that the Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had already approved the agreed matters to the negotiation team, while contact with PTI leaders was maintained until 12 midnight.
The Federal Interior Minister said that suggestions were sought from the PTI on one paragraph of the proposed draft, but no response was received in this regard, although the PTI agreed on all the remaining points of the draft.
Mohsin Naqvi added that all the issues and details that arose during the negotiations can also be confirmed with the PTI leaders.
The Interior Minister said that during the negotiations between the government and the opposition, it was decided that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif would meet the opposition leader and request him to postpone the long march, however, despite continuous contacts and efforts, the negotiations could not prove fruitful.
The Federal Interior Minister said that the head of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (F), Maulana Fazlur Rehman, also met with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif yesterday.
Maulana Fazlur Rehman also met with the PTI leaders, however, despite their efforts, no result could be achieved.
Mohsin Naqvi expressed concern over the law and order situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and said that the situation is very bad in 12 districts of the province, where the situation has become so serious that people cannot even step out of their homes after early night.
He said that he had several meetings with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi; however, only the issue of terrorism was discussed in these meetings, and no political talks were diiscussed.
