Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi on Tuesday said that even if negotiations are held with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), the release of the party’s founder, Imran Khan, will not be part of the talks.
Speaking to the media, the governor said the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) had not yet been consulted regarding any negotiations between the federal government and PTI.
He added that had there been serious progress on talks, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari would have issued a statement.
Faisal Karim Kundi said PTI could not be trusted, recalling that the party had previously sabotaged dialogue efforts. He maintained that if negotiations take place, they would not include any discussion on Imran Khan’s release, stressing that the PTI founder would serve his sentence and would not be granted any National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO).
The governor further accused PTI of having “ruined the province for the sake of one individual” and urged the party to focus on governance in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He said that during the PPP-led government’s 16-month tenure, efforts were made to bring coalition partners and PTI to the negotiating table, but PTI later resorted to the May 9 incidents.
He reiterated that his party had always believed political issues should be resolved through political means, but criticised PTI leadership for sending mixed signals.
“On one hand they talk about negotiations, while on the other the PTI founder issues inflammatory posts about marching on Islamabad,” he said.
Faisal Karim Kundi also questioned PTI’s internal decision-making, saying the party should clarify who actually holds authority within its ranks. He claimed there was a lack of trust among PTI leaders and alleged that the party had started relying on “imported leadership”.
Referring to PTI’s proposed names for the opposition leader, he said the party had nominated Mahmood Khan Achakzai and Allama Nasir Abbas, adding sarcastically that it was unclear when these leaders’ “expiry dates” would end.
“PTI discards people once its interests are served,” he remarked.
