By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met on Monday with the chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a province governed by the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, to discuss pressing issues of security, finance and development, a rare display of cross-party dialogue in Pakistan’s fractious politic.
The high-level talks, held at the Prime Minister’s House in Islamabad, marked the first such engagement since Sohail Afridi assumed the role of chief minister in October last year. Relations between Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)-led federal coalition and PTI-controlled Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have been tense since Khan’s ouster in 2022 and his imprisonment on graft and other charges, which his party describes as politically driven. Officials described the talks as focused squarely on governance and counterterrorism, steering clear of the partisan rancor that has defined national politics since Khan’s ouster in a parliamentary vote.
Sharif, according to a statement from his office, stressed the urgency of federal-provincial cooperation to bolster law and order in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a frontier province bordering Afghanistan where attacks by factions of the Pakistani Taliban have escalated in recent years. “Close and effective communication between the Centre and the provinces is indispensable for national progress and public service,” Sharif said, as quoted in the statement. He assured Afridi of federal support for the province’s development initiatives, including infrastructure, education, health and employment, within the bounds of constitutional authority.
On security, Sharif said provincial cooperation as “unavoidable” for establishing peace, calling on the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa administration to bolster its efforts against terrorism. “There is a need to improve the provincial government’s efforts to establish law and order,” he said, according to the statement, urging the strengthening of provincial institutions to combat militancy.
Both sides affirmed continued joint efforts to eliminate terrorism, with Sharif stressing that the provincial government must fulfill its constitutional duties on security and public welfare. “The provincial government is empowered. Steps should be taken for the health and education of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s people. The federal government has always been striving for the betterment of the KP’s people,” Sharif was quoted as saying.
Prime Minister’s Adviser on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah, Minister for Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan Amir Muqam, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s finance adviser Muzzammil Aslam attended the meeting, which lasted over an hour. The discussions also touched on financial disputes that have long simmered between Islamabad and Peshawar.
Afridi, speaking to reporters afterward, said the discussions focused on provincial finances, counterterrorism and governance, with no political topics raised, including any meetings with the jailed Khan. “Issues concerning our province — whether it is the NFC (National Finance Commission), the CRBC (Chashma Right Bank Canal), NHP (Net Hydel Profit payments) or our other pending, including Rs2,600 billion funds for the merged tribal districts due on the Centre — were discussed,” Afridi said. A “joint course of action” on counterterrorism was explored, with Sharif directing the planning minister, Ahsan Iqbal, to meet with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s finance adviser Aslam to address the fiscal shortfalls. “The prime minister has issued directions for the release of these funds,” Afridi said, adding plans for follow-up meetings on both financial and security matters after Eid.
Afridi condemned recent terrorist attacks in Balochistan and elsewhere. “We have always condemned terrorism wherever it has taken place and we will also condemn it in the future,” he said. “Terrorism has no province or country or religion, and whoever carries out terrorism, we all should condemn it as a Pakistani.” The chief minister dismissed questions about political topics, including his access to Khan, who is held at Adiala jail in Rawalpindi. “There were no talks on anything political,” he said, defending his attendance despite political differences. “Perhaps as a political worker, I would never have sat there. But I deemed it appropriate for my people and my province, where the conditions are getting serious — whether financially or due to decisions made in closed rooms.”
Responding to questions on displacement in areas like Tirah and corruption allegations of Rs4 billion against his government, Afridi pointed to an International Monetary Fund report from November that he said highlighted Rs5,300 billion in federal corruption, calling the provincial figure insignificant compared to local sacrifices.”Rs4bn is a small amount. They are nothing compared to the sacrifices that my people in Tirah, Kurram and Bajaur are giving.”
Muqam, addressing the media separately, welcomed the engagement as overdue but essential. “Better late than never,” he said, noting that previous invitations to Afridi had gone unheeded.
He stressed the need for “excellent coordination” and regular communication, noting agreement that speaking against institutions was inappropriate and that politics should be set aside for a unified stance against militancy. “The prime minister emphasized that the nation must remain united against the menace of terrorism,” Muqam said, adding that Afridi had conveyed the importance of collective progress for the country and its institutions.
The encounter follows Afridi’s recent letter to Sharif accusing the federal government of withholding constitutionally mandated funds, including a Rs54.4 billion shortfall under the NFC, which he said had precipitated a fiscal crisis. In a speech to a tribal jirga in Khyber on Sunday, Afridi had vowed to advocate for the province’s rights during the Islamabad visit.
Copyright © 2021 Independent Pakistan | All rights reserved
