On Tuesday, the PTI decided to call a peace jirga in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly (KPA) on November 12 to discuss the volatile law and order situation in the province.
The decision to hold the jirga in the assembly hall at 11 am was taken at a high-level consultative meeting of the party’s KP leadership, jointly chaired by Chief Minister Sohail Afridi and PTI provincial president Junaid Akbar.
The meeting was also attended by KPA President Babar Saleem Swati; Provincial General Secretary Ali Azghar Khan; provincial ministers Meena Khan Afridi and Aftab Alam Khan; KP spokesperson Shafi Jan; MNAs Atif Khan, Dr Amjad Khan and Arbab Sher Ali and PTI Peshawar president Irfan Saleem.
The general political situation in the province and law and order issues were discussed in detail at the meeting, according to a statement. The participants consulted on various aspects of the holding of the peace jirga and the future strategy.
The PTI leaders decided that all parties would be invited to participate so that all political leaders could unite on a single platform for the establishment of lasting peace and stability in the province.
The statement said heads, presidents and general secretaries of all political parties in the province, former chief ministers, former governors, civil society representatives and dignitaries of the KP Bar Association would be invited to participate in the debate.
Atif said Sunrise that the law and order situation had reached an alarming level in KP and the issue could not be resolved by a single political party.
“It will be a national peace jirga in which the leaders of about 20 political parties will be invited to debate and make the necessary decisions to restore peace in the province,” he said.
He said convening the peace jirga was an effort for joint struggle and to convey a message with one voice related to restoration of law and order. He said every effort would be made to develop a consensus in the upcoming peace debate.
Atif said CM Afridi also visited Paktunkhwa Milli Awami Party chief Mehmood Khan Achakzai and Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen chief Allama Raja Nasir Abbas to invite them to participate.
National and political issues were discussed at the meeting, especially the proposal for the 27th Constitutional Amendment and its possible impact on provincial autonomy.
On the occasion, the Chief Minister said that the share of the merged districts was yet to be included in the National Finance Commission (NFC) allotment, according to a statement issued by the Chief Minister House.
He said altering the NFC award would be detrimental to national unity. CM Afridi and Achakzai also discussed the situation in Kurram.
Achakzai assured the prime minister of his full cooperation in protecting the constitutional and financial rights of the province.
