PESHAWAR -UNS : Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi has offered to hold talks with the federal government, saying political issues can be resolved through mutual understanding.
The offer came a day after the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) postponed its planned long march towards Islamabad from September 27 to October 4.
Speaking to senior journalists in Peshawar on Saturday, CM Afridi said the federal government still had time to resolve the matter through negotiations.
“If the federal government wants to resolve the issue within seven days, it should do so through mutual understanding,” he said.
Afridi questioned why the government would wait until after the long march to begin negotiations.
“If negotiations have to be held after the long march, why not do them before?” he asked, adding that his party wanted the issue to be resolved.
The chief minister said PTI’s political committee had decided to give the government additional time and described the postponement as part of the party’s strategy.
The PTI has been preparing for a major protest and march on Islamabad, with the party demanding the release of its founder Imran Khan and what it calls the restoration of constitutional supremacy.
Asked about Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, Afridi said the PTI would welcome him if he joined the protest.
“If Maulana Fazlur Rehman comes to us, we will welcome him,” he said.
Commenting on his position as chief minister, Afridi said he would not be concerned even if he lost the office for the sake of Imran Khan.
“If I am disqualified, the PTI founder will decide my replacement,” he said.
‘Political strategy’
Earlier, PTI Khyber Pakhtunkhwa information secretary Shaukat Yousafzai described the decision to postpone the Islamabad march as a “political strategy”.
Speaking to the media in Peshawar, Yousafzai said the federal government had deployed thousands of police personnel and placed containers in the area, prompting the party to revise its strategy and move the march to October 4.
