Pak's KPK CM Gandapur says he will send delegation to Afghanistan for talks with Taliban

Peshawar, Sep 12 (PTI) Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Amin Gandapur on Thursday said that he will send a delegation to Afghanistan for direct talks with the Taliban to address his government's concerns over terrorism, nearly a week after he sought permission from the Centre to engage in peace negotiations.

Gandapur's remarks came amid a series of military operations by the Pakistan Army targeting the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. The Pakistani government has repeatedly accused the TTP of operating from sanctuaries in Afghanistan, a claim denied by the Afghan Taliban.

Addressing a gathering of lawyers in Peshawar, Gandapur said that he would send a delegation of tribal leaders to Afghanistan for talks. He did not give any details.

"As chief executive of the provincial government, I will engage in direct negotiations with Afghanistan to resolve the issue through negotiations," he said.

There has been an uptick in the incidents of terrorism in Pakistan since the Taliban took over the government in Kabul in 2021, dashing hopes in Islamabad that a friendly government in Afghanistan would help to tackle militancy.

Relations between the two countries have lately become strained, largely because of the TTP but also due to frequent border skirmishes.

The law and order situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where former prime minister Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf is ruling, has reached its lowest ebb for the last couple of months with not a single day passed without a terror incident.

Target killings of police security personnel, kidnapping of govt officials, and attacks on police and security forces in six southern districts of the province have become routine.

Last week, Gandapur emphasised the importance of dialogue, stating, “If my request is not granted, I, as the chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, will personally lead a delegation of tribal elders to Afghanistan for talks with the interim government.” He stressed that peace in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was closely tied to the security situation in neighbouring Afghanistan.

Gandapur had also called for a clear policy to combat militancy in the region and announced plans to convene the provincial apex committee to discuss the issue.

He also criticised the federal government, led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, for what he described as its failure to deliver on promises of development for the recently merged tribal districts. PTI AYZ NSA ZH ZH