PESHAWAR (The Thursday Times) — Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa parliamentary party has backed talks with the federal government to secure the withdrawal of governor’s rule and the state of emergency in the province, sources told Geo News on Friday.
More than 40 lawmakers, including former chief minister Ali Amin Gandapur, joined the online meeting, along with PTI chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan and Noor-ul-Haq Qadri. Members agreed that dialogue with the Centre should pave the way for lifting both measures, and some proposed that Gandapur be included in the negotiations.
Gohar told the meeting that most PTI members of the National Assembly also favoured talks. “We are in favour of negotiations. The federal government should reduce tensions and remove governor’s rule and the emergency,” senior leader Shaukat Yousafzai said, adding that there should be no objection to Gandapur leading the party’s side if lawmakers chose him.
The lawmakers also endorsed the decision not to call workers onto the streets after governor’s rule was imposed, saying protests could have led to incidents like those of May 9. Yousafzai distanced the party from any remarks made against state institutions, saying PTI had nothing to do with them.
The federal government has said governor’s rule will end after six months but that the emergency will stay until peace returns to the province. The meeting did not discuss the PPP’s invitation to the opposition to join a parliamentary committee on electoral reforms, which is being handled at the federal level.
