PESHAWAR: Federal Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi arrived in Peshawar from Lahore amid heightened political tensions following the breakdown of negotiations with the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).
According to sources, Naqvi is scheduled to hold important meetings in Peshawar and is also expected to meet Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi.
Before departing for Peshawar, Naqvi told a press conference in Lahore that he had briefed President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on the entire situation surrounding talks with the PTI.
The interior minister said PTI’s negotiating team, comprising Barrister Gohar, Nasir Abbas, Asad Qaiser, Salman Akram Raja and Amir Dogar, had participated in the talks in good faith and that the draft agreement had been finalised.
However, he alleged that KP Chief Minister Sohail Afridi sought changes at the last moment, disrupting the entire process.
Naqvi said that if the KP chief minister was to make the final decisions, he should have participated in the negotiations himself. He also held Afridi responsible for any loss of life or untoward incident during the planned long march.
Criticising the KP administration, Naqvi said the province was facing a situation resembling a war while the chief minister was issuing statements against the military. He also alleged that terrorists were receiving patronage somewhere in KP.
Naqvi warned that the government would put an end to repeated attempts to march on Islamabad and that action would also be taken inside KP against long march participants and those found in contempt of court.
He said the government would not allow a repeat of the May 9 events under any circumstances.
Naqvi further announced that negotiations with the PTI had ended and said the government would fully implement whatever constitutional and administrative decisions were taken by the president and prime minister.
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