Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said on Sunday that the talks between the federal government and the opposition had collapsed as the PTI had initiated its long march, accusing Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi of “sabotaging” the negotiations.
Naqvi was addressing a press conference in Islamabad hours after an hours-long second round of talks between the two sides ended without yielding any results.
“Their team was reasonable. I am repeating that I will not blame anyone else for all of this collapsing. There is only one person responsible for the entire collapse, and that is the KP chief minister,” the interior minister declared.
He further said that Afridi was to be responsible “if there is any loss of life”. He said those supporting the PTI leader should “realise that they will be committing contempt of court, and we will take legal action against them to every possible extent”.
He warned that no one would be allowed to violate the Islamabad High Court’s order regarding protest. The IHC order, issued on Sept 14, ruled that no political party or its leadership has the “lawful right to occupy public roads, highways, interchanges, toll plazas and buildings in Islamabad”.
Notably, Naqvi stressed that there “had been no request from our side for the long march to be postponed”.
“When we had the first meeting, we told them that the long march was not an issue for us. However, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto had already given an indication and had also given a date. A day earlier, he had said that the PPP wanted the long march to be postponed and for the temperature to be brought down,” he added.
Naqvi explained that the PTI was given the option to hold a protest but would not allow an attempt to “create a disturbance”.
“We gave them this option. Now, if they violate the orders, whether they are workers or politicians, whether they are protesting within KP or outside KP, we will pursue them one by one. This time, we want to ensure that this repeated episode of creating a disturbance in Islamabad comes to an end,” he asserted.
According to the interior minister, there were two agreements to be reached — one was a “main agreement” that would cover whatever was being decided with the opposition parties, and the other was regarding counterterrorism.
“If we had known that no one in this committee was authorised to give a commitment on behalf of the KP government, or that the KP government would veto all these things, we would not have held the negotiations in this form in the first place,” he remarked.
The minister said the two sides had agreed “100 per cent on political things” so that the KP government could come on board with the Centre on the counterterrorism issues.
“It is not appropriate that there is a war going on in one province and the ministers there are giving statements against the army, are not coming to funerals, and at the local level, somewhere or the other, terrorists are also being given support,” he added.
“If there is a military operation, would you tell the army which gun to use or which drone to use? This happens nowhere in the world,” he said.
Naqvi detailed Saturday’s developments: “I requested CM Afridi to onboard the KP government because, definitely, the problems we are facing are coming from the KP government. He said, ‘Okay, I am going now,’ so we postponed the meeting until tomorrow. All members agreed to the postponement.
“They (opposition team) held negotiations with CM Afridi for four hours. The KP CM gave them his feedback and gave them the mandate that whatever they finalise with him, they should proceed with it.”
The interior minister accused Afridi of changing the draft of the agreement despite what had been agreed to earlier.
“When I forwarded the draft to the KP chief minister, around 9pm he became active. Once the draft is finalised, he asks for changes once and then asks again, and by 12am or 12:30am at night, he brings an entirely new draft. And in that, he changed the things that we had locked after discussing them,” Naqvi asserted.
In an apparent jibe at the KP CM, Naqvi noted that placing “immature and inexperienced people in positions of authority had consequences for the country”.
“You have seen in the past how chief ministers came to this province and the country continued to suffer the consequences. Similarly, if an immature boy sits in a position of authority, has no experience and has not seen politics, then definitely he will call himself a representative of the people, but he will make decisions in the same way as my team and I witnessed yesterday.”
Commending the government’s delegation, the minister said: “They worked non-stop for 12 hours and, even before that, made sincere efforts to resolve the issue. I will give them credit for the fact that at no point did they say no. They remained focused on resolving the matter. From the smallest issue to the major ones, all the members made a sincere effort to resolve them in a good manner.”
Naqvi meets Kundi at Governor House
Naqvi then went to Peshawar, where he met KP Governor Faisal Karim Kundi.
According to a statement issued by the Governor House, both leaders expressed concerns over the “risk of facilitating terrorists to safely cross security checkposts” during the PTI’s Islamabad march.
They agreed that whenever the president and the prime minister deemed it necessary to impose governor’s rule or emergency to “save the province from terrorism and destruction, the Governor’s House will play a full Constitutional role”.
The interior minister and the governor discussed important matters at the provincial level, including growing unrest in the province, the political scenario, and the situation arising from the Islamabad march.
The statement read that the KP government’s attitude during the negotiation regarding counterterrorism actions was tantamount to enmity toward the people and the province.
Naqvi and Kundi also termed the use of helicopters and other government resources by Afridi and the provincial ministers for the march as a “blatant violation” of the IHC verdict.
Other matters of mutual interest were also discussed in the meeting, and consultations were held on numerous issues, according to the statement.
Kundi said in his own statement that KP Inspector General of Police Zulfikar Hameed was also present at the meeting, which revolved around the prevailing security situation in the province.
“The security of our people remains our foremost priority. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has sacrificed enough, and every institution must work together to protect our people and defeat terrorism,” the governor said.
Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif visited Naqvi’s residence to offer condolences over the death of his maternal uncle, Akmal Hussain Naqvi.
According to the PM Office, the interior minister also briefed PM Shehbaz in detail on the “key negotiations held last night and the progress made” so far.
Conditions and demands
Earlier in the day, Naqvi also claimed on X that the KP government had agreed to sign a written agreement and submit an implementation plan within 72 hours, mainly covering counterterrorism initiatives, during the talks held over the weekend, but then backtracked.
According to Naqvi, the PTI had agreed to:
- Reconsider the Police Act 2026 in light of the security situation and the need to protect security matters from political interference
- Prevent terrorists from operating freely or finding safe havens in the province
- Unequivocal condemnation of the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan and all other terrorist groups
- Support the national policy on Afghan refugees, including repatriation and dismantling Afghan camps in KP
- No contact with the interim Afghan government
- Substantial funding for counterterrorism operations and the police
- Full provincial ownership of counterterrorism measures and stronger cooperation with the armed forces
- Decisions on counterterrorism in the former Fata and merged districts
- Implementation of the National Action Plan
“Last night, during the final phase of negotiations, the KP government backed out of these commitments. Security must not be politicised while the province is at war,” he said.
The meeting between the opposition and federal government at Parliament House began after 4pm on Saturday, with discussions focusing on the PTI’s planned Oct 4 march to Islamabad. The talks extended into the early hours of Sunday without yielding any results.
However, shortly before 3am on Sunday, Senate Opposition Leader Allama Raja Nasir Abbas, who was part of the opposition delegation, told the media that the talks had not resulted in a breakthrough.
He went on to say that the deadlock was over jailed PTI founder Imran Khan’s meeting with his personal physicians, and how to address terrorism in KP.
But Minister of State for Interior Tallal Chaudhry, who was part of the government’s delegation, said the talks failed primarily because the “KP government could not assure whether they would cooperate in the fight against terrorism in the future”. He alleged that the PTI’s provincial government in KP did not want to implement the NAP and that the PTI delegation that participated in the talks had also left the venue “disappointed because the KP government did not cooperate on terrorism”.
Following these allegations, CM Afridi posted on X that he was sharing the text of the draft he sent to the opposition’s negotiating team, saying that “no even one demand in there was unconstitutional or illegal”.
He then went on to list the demands, calling for:
- Arrangements for meetings between the prime minister and the leaders of the opposition in both houses of Parliament to discuss important political, national, constitutional, legal, and democratic issues, particularly those facing delays. “The two sides shall be bound to ensure effective and feasible progress within two months towards resolving the aforementioned matters through mutual consultation and negotiations.”
- The prime minister to form a joint political negotiating committee comprising representatives from the ruling coalition, the PPP and opposition parties. “This committee shall engage in continuous negotiations with the opposition on national and political matters, points of disagreement, and other important issues, and shall seek feasible solutions through mutual consensus. The committee shall ensure significant progress on negotiations and resolutions within one month of its formation and shall present its recommendations to the relevant leadership.”
- Ensuring all legal, human and medical rights for Imran and his spouse, Bushra Bibi, in accordance with the jail manual, Constitution and prevailing laws. “Where legally applicable, necessary medical facilities and treatment shall be provided to them, taking into account the opinion, instructions and advice of their personal or nominated physicians.”
- Allowing Imran and Bushra Bibi to meet their family members, lawyers and other associates, in accordance with the jail manual and relevant laws. “Such meetings shall be conducted in accordance with the law and jail rules and regulations. However, the facility of meetings will not be used by any party for political or other purposes prohibited by law.”
- The process of taking up appeals filed by prisoners against their sentences to be initiated or completed within 10 days, where legally possible, in accordance with the Constitution and law. “All cases shall be decided by the relevant courts and legal forums in accordance with the Constitution, law, transparent judicial procedures and principles of justice, without undue delay. And women who are political prisoners, including Yasmin Rashid and Bushra Bibi, should be released expeditiously on humanitarian grounds.”
- Effective, continuous and meaningful consultation between the federal and provincial governments to eradicate terrorism, protect the lives and property of the people and establish lasting peace in KP. “Existing policies and measures should be reviewed and amended as needed.”
- Authorised representatives of the federal and provincial governments shall convene regular meetings within 72 hours and, through mutual consultation, formulate a clear, comprehensive and feasible strategy for peace and security. The implementation of this strategy, within the scope of the Constitution and law, shall be the joint responsibility of the federal and provincial governments.”
The KP CM said that PTI would announce the cancellation of the long march upon receiving a written assurance from the federal government for the effective implementation of the aforementioned assurances and agreed actions.
“However, if the federal government violates the agreed assurances, the negotiation process, or constitutional and legal requirements, or causes undue disruption to the negotiation process, PTI shall reserve the right to peaceful, democratic and lawful protest in accordance with the Constitution and law”, he added.
Responding to Afridi on X, Naqvi said the “negotiating teams finalised a separate draft with us, which both sides agreed to, in addition to the KP Terrorism Related Implementation Plan”.
Commenting on that, KP Information Minister Shafiullah Jan said the PTI’s negotiating committee “came with a full mandate that we would endorse every decision they made, however they deemed fit”.
“The provincial government’s mandate lies with the chief minister. The KP government’s policy cannot go against Imran Khan’s ideology. Your intent is not to end terrorism but to end PTI,” Jan asserted.
“The blood of our innocent Pakhtuns is not so cheap that, under your misguided policies, we would sacrifice another 80,000 lives. Terrorism has been forcibly imposed on Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Those who start the fire can never put it out,” he claimed.
The provincial minister stressed that a policy shift regarding counterterrorism was necessary as “relying solely on the policy of guns and batons will not work”.
“A few self-proclaimed wise men sitting in closed rooms will not decide our future,” Jan said.
PPP says KP govt ‘began dictating terms’
PPP Senator Sherry Rehman, who was part of the talks, also blamed the KP chief minister, saying the talks “collapsed on the KP government’s unilateral refusal to sign the afternoon’s pre-agreed draft on counterterrorism cooperation with the Centre”.
In a post on X, she emphasised that the idea behind the agreement was to bring the province on board on all counterterrorism actions.
The PPP leader said the government’s team had repeatedly asked for the provincial government of KP to be in the talks as well, but the chief minister or cabinet representatives did not turn up. “If they had a viable draft, they should have shown up themselves or communicated it to their committee over the two days, without constant reversals”, she added.
“No point presenting new drafts on social media after refusing to show up or sabotaging their own teams by broadcasting messages that subvert the process,” Rehman stated.
The senior politician went on to say: “I have never in my 25 years in parliament seen such a reckless squandering of an opening to begin political CBMs (confidence-building measures), and to bring stability to Pakistan after years of bitter political division.”
Rehman regretted that instead of “taking the opportunity the PPP-govt team offered them to unlock the blind alley they have taken themselves into, their Peshawar government began dictating terms after 8:30pm when all but final agreements had been signed”.
“We really went more than halfway. The rest could have followed.”
The post Naqvi says talks with opposition have collapsed, accuses KP CM of 'sabotaging' negotiations appeared first on Dawn – Home.
