By Staff Reporter
PESHAWAR: Punjab Governor Sardar Saleem Haider Khan on Friday described the alliance between his Pakistan Peoples Party and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz as a political “compulsion” rather than a bond of affection, a necessity to ensure stability after the 2024 general elections.
“At least two parties had to join forces to form the government,” Khan said at a news conference at the Governor’s House in Peshawar, alongside Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi. “Pakistan is our top priority,” he added, emphasizing that the coalition serves the nation’s interests.
The remarks highlight the fragility of Pakistan’s coalition government, formed after no party secured a clear majority in the February 2024 elections. Khan acknowledged the alliance’s toll on both parties’ rank-and-file members. “The PPP’s inclusion in the government was borne out of necessity, not choice, and it has come at a political cost for our party,” he said, warning that “even a minor irresponsibility could derail the system.”
Khan noted that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, the PML-N leader, had assured the PPP that its concerns would be addressed soon, though PML-N officials have admitted difficulty in meeting several commitments.
The news conference also addressed access to Imran Khan, the jailed founder of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party. Saleem Haider Khan, the Punjab governor, endorsed allowing Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi to meet Khan, who has been detained since last year on charges his supporters call politically motivated. “There is democracy in the country, and in my view, politicians should be dealt with politically,” he said. “The court has given [Mr. Afridi] permission to meet [Imran Khan], and if there is no legal hindrance, I see no reason why the meeting should not take place.”
Saleem Haider Khan urged the PTI-led Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government to engage with the federal government. “You need to hold talks to secure your rights through a political process,” he said. Saleem Haider Khan also expressed pride in the PPP’s role in passing the 26th Constitutional Amendment, which he said required his party’s support to succeed. Regarding speculation about a 27th amendment, he said the PPP would back it only if satisfied with its contents.
Governor Kundi, speaking on regional challenges, highlighted the worsening security situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s merged tribal districts. “There is no other way except for intelligence-based operations,” he said, alleging that 80 percent of militant attacks in the province involved Afghanistan.
He cited a recent attack on police training schools in Dera Ismail Khan, where all attackers, except one facilitator, were Afghan nationals. Kundi added that Pakistani officials had urged Afghanistan’s interim government not to allow India or Israel to use its territory against Pakistan.
Kundi called for a parliamentary jirga to facilitate dialogue between the province and the federal government, particularly through the Council of Common Interests. He noted that the province’s population had grown after the tribal districts’ merger, increasing the urgency for a new National Finance Commission meeting, which Sharif had promised for August but postponed due to floods. “My doors are open,” Kundi said. “The Governor’s House will serve as a bridge between the provincial and federal governments for peace and development.”
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