Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Chief Minister Pervez Khattak on Thursday considered reconciliation with the leaders of Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM), inviting them for dialogue with local jirga in order to resolve the situation.
Khattak requested the PTM leaders to come forth and meet with the jirga, that includes the KP governor — in the next four or five days and resolve this situation.
“I want to request the PTM leaders to come for dialogue,” he said during the press conference on Thursday. He said, “I invite them to meet me personally, as I would like to take their issues up and resolve them. I do not think their issues are intractable and believe they can be resolved.”
“Whatever issues they have, they should sit [with the jirga] and find a solution within [the bounds of] the Constitution. They should have this discussion so that this air of confusion in the region may be resolved,” Khattak said.
“This request comes from the provincial government and from our party [PTI],” the chief minister stated.
On the other hand, in an interview, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief endorsed the idea of holding talks with the PTM. “I agree with this young movement, the PTM, up until the point that they have been wronged. I don’t think anyone else could have survived what they did —they were able to because they are strong folks,” he added.
Imran Khan said, “I am ready to champion their cause and talk to General Bajwa [about their demand].”
While reiterating his long-standing reservations regarding the military operation conducted in the tribal areas, Khan said, “It is the fault of those who ordered the operation.”
