The federal government and its allies on Thursday lambasted Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur for his comments about unilaterally leading peace talks with Afghanistan, accusing him of exceeding his authority.

Addressing a gathering of lawyers, representatives of bar councils, ministers and parliamentarians at KP House on Wednesday, Gandapur had railed against the powers that be, focusing on what he referred to as the “rule of repression” on the basis of one’s personal hatred and stubbornness.

Gandapur also expressed a resolve to take the bull of militancy, prevailing in his province, by the horns, announcing his intention to send a delegation to Kabul to speak to the Afghan Taliban and seek their help in bringing peace to KP.

Gandapur suggested that he, as the leader of the province, would personally engage in talks with Afghanistan, indicating plans to send a delegation and negotiate in an effort to resolve the issue and save lives.

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif criticised Gandapur’s statement about holding one-on-one dialogue with Afghanistan, calling it a “direct attack on the federation”.

“No province has the authority to hold direct talks with any foreign country,” he said on the floor of the National Assembly today. “It is a continuation of the speech Gandapur made at his rally a few days ago.

“The path taken by the CM and his party is venomous for the people of Pakistan,” Asif added.

Meanwhile, senior PPP leader and ex-senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar took to X to voice his discontent regarding CM Gandapur’s remarks. Calling them “frivolous”, Khokhar said, “We may disagree with the politics of the institutions and their policies, but the federation comes first.”

Militancy has surged in Pakistan, particularly in KP, where the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has escalated attacks on security forces.

In 2023, Pakistan recorded 1,524 fatalities and 1,463 injuries from 789 terror incidents, with KP and Balochistan accounting for over 90% of deaths and 84% of attacks, according to a security report by the Centre for Research and Security Studies.

Islamabad claims that Kabul harbours TTP militants, enabling them to launch attacks on Pakistan from Afghan territory, a charge the Taliban administration denies.

Meeting with Afghan consul general

Meanwhile, a day after his speech, Gandapur met Afghan Consul General Hafiz Mohibullah Shaki in Peshawar on Wednesday, Voice of America Urdu service reported.

The discussion focused on issues of mutual interest, including the promotion of mutual trade, regional peace and stability, and solutions to the problems faced by Afghan citizens living in the province and other issues.

“The people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Afghanistan share many values,” Gandapur said. “People across the border are bound by linguistic, religious, cultural, and human ties… people on both sides have suffered because of the war on terror.”

The chief minister reiterated that regional peace is in the interest of both nations. “Now is the time that serious efforts should be made to establish lasting peace in the region,” he said.

Gandapur suggested the federal government hold a jirga to discuss regional peace with Afghanistan, adding that there are vast opportunities for mutual trade that will benefit both countries.

Allegations of FIRs against Gandapur

During Geo News programme ‘Capital Talk’ today, journalist Hamid Mir, while speaking to prime minister’s aide Rana Sanaullah, brought up the issues of police reports Gandapur alleged were falsely registered against him.

“There’s not even one FIR filed against him,” Sanaullah said in response.

A day after the PTI held its power show outside Islamabad, law enforcement agencies swooped in on the party’s top brass, whisking away Barrister Gohar, firebrand leader Sher Afzal Marwat, Waziristan lawmaker Zubair Khan and lawyer Shoaib Shaheen.

A PTI official claimed on Tuesday that a total of 11 MNAs had been arrested.

That night, Gandapur’s whereabouts were completely unknown, prompting concern within the party that he had been arrested.

On Monday night, KP government spokesperson Barrister Mohammad Saif had said the chief minister had left for Islamabad at 3:00pm for “some meeting”, but since then he had not been in touch with the provincial leadership.

However, Saif later said on a television programme that his team “managed to get in touch with the chief minister in the late hours of Monday night”.

“There’s not even one FIR against him,” Sanaullah told Mir.

“Even if FIRs have been registered against him, then he should take it up with the courts. Who is he telling these things to?” Sanaullah questioned, referring to the CM’s fiery speeches.

The minister referenced how PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan was discharged after being taken into custody.

“Gandapur sahib can also just go to the court and ask for relief,” Sanaullah said.

‘Our borders are unsafe’: PTI’s Latif Khosa

On the same show, senior PTI leader Sardar Latif Khosa said that both the party and its founder Imran Khan stood with Gandapur, although he acknowledged that the chief minister “said a little too much about journalists”.

Asked if what the chief minister said was akin to Bangladeshi leader Mujibur Rehman’s six points, Khosa said, “You cannot compare what he (Gandapur) said to Sheikh Mujibur Rehman.”

Khosa explained that the context was vastly different: “We are not talking about two halves of Pakistan separated by a thousand miles of India.

“We’re talking about KP, whose people are separated from Afghanistan by the Durand Line,” he added.

“Look at how frequent transit and trade is across that border, hundreds of thousands of people crossed over, especially post 9/11.”

Khosa highlighted the similarities between the people, culture and language on both sides. “They’re also our Muslim brothers”.

“The unfortunate reality is that we have messed up and failed to accept them here with open arms, especially in recent years,” Khosa continued. “We should have maintained good relations, but we got involved with the US post 9/11 and Pakistan sustained a lot of damage, a lot of our forces and people were martyred.

“This 3-year-old government has not done anything to improve relations, it’s ruined everything,” Khosa added.

The PTI leader stood with the chief minister, stating that Gandapur’s comments may be rooted in how KP has been affected by cross-border terrorism.

“If the CM has said in the Apex Committee meeting that his province is affected the most, that our brothers on either side of the border are struggling, or people are infiltrating our side of the border, it is unfortunate that the establishment is standing with this form 47 government,” Khosa said. “Our borders are unsafe and our enemies are benefitting.”