- CM Afridi says he will meet Field Marshal Asim Munir.
- Calls for the supremacy of the Constitution and the law.
- Admits to using inappropriate language in Lahore.
In a positive development, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Chief Minister Sohail Afridi has said that he is willing to hold talks with the establishment on provincial issues and improve relations, adding that policies should be formulated in accordance with public interest.
Speaking to reporters in Peshawar on Friday, the provincial chief executive said Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founding president Imran Khan had not given him instructions on anything related to talks with the establishment.
At the same time, he clarified that the former prime minister had assigned the task to Mahmood Khan Achakzai and Allama Raja Nasir Abbas.
He said that if any ceremony or meeting is held, he would definitely meet Chief of Defense Forces (CDF) and Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir.
Afridi said there should be supremacy of the Constitution and law in the country, adding that for talks on Imran Khan’s release, conditions and environment must be conducive.
He said that it is legitimate for the sisters of the PTI founder to go out and campaign for the release of their brother, adding that their purpose in going to Karachi is to mobilize the public for the release of the PTI founder.
The Prime Minister also admitted that during his visit to Lahore he used inappropriate language but said it was a reaction to an action and added that he had apologized for using such language during the visit.
On Friday, the Prime Minister’s Adviser on Political Affairs, Rana Sanaullah, speaking at Geographic news programme, ‘Naya Pakistan’, said it was impossible for Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to make a dialogue offer to the PTI without first consulting Nawaz Sharif or the establishment.
He also expressed doubts about the success of any talks, saying the dialogue would fail unless the PTI founder supported it, and quoted Imran’s sister Aleema Khan as saying that anyone holding talks would not be from the party.
Earlier this week, Punjab Assembly Speaker Malik Muhammad Ahmad Khan recommended legal action over the chaos that erupted during CM Afridi’s arrival at the provincial legislature building.
He said a committee report found that people accompanying him entered the provincial assembly without proper authorization and scuffled with security personnel.
The report came a day after Afridi wrote to Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz to protest the alleged ill-treatment during her visit to the Punjab Assembly.
