Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Chief Minister (CM) Sohail Afridi would be held responsible for any loss of life during the PTI long march, saying that the government’s concern was terrorism and security threats rather than PTI’s political activities.
Addressing a presser in Lahore on Sunday, Mohsin Naqvi stated that the federal government had not asked PTI to postpone its long march, saying the government had only raised concerns over the prevailing security situation “We never asked PTI to delay the long march,” Naqvi said.
He said the government’s position was based on security concerns, particularly the threat of terrorism, and not on PTI’s political activities. Naqvi added that the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) had separately asked PTI to delay the march because of the prevailing security situation.
Mohsin Naqvi has Sohail Afridi solely responsible for the failure of negotiations between PTI and the federal government, saying the provincial chief minister derailed an agreement that had been almost finalised.
Naqvi said 99% of the points had already been agreed upon during negotiations aimed at stopping PTI’s planned long march towards Islamabad.
He said the agreement had been prepared and that he took its draft to President Asif Ali Zardari. He said that upon returning, he discovered that several changes had been made to the draft.
The interior minister directly accused Sohail Afridi of sabotaging the negotiations and said the responsibility for their failure rested solely with the KP chief minister.
Sohail Afridi warned over PTI long march
Naqvi also issued a clear warning to Sohail Afridi, saying he would be responsible if anyone lost their life during PTI’s long march towards Islamabad.
He said the federal government’s concern was not PTI’s political activity but the terrorism threat and deteriorating security situation.
Naqvi said four drafts of the proposed agreement were prepared and amended during the negotiations, with the participants discussing the details before the process broke down.
He said the government had insisted that the KP government be made a mandatory participant in the negotiations. Naqvi questioned Afridi’s decision-making role, saying that if the chief minister wanted to make the final decisions, he should have personally attended the talks.
PTI talks end without agreement
PTI and the federal government held two rounds of negotiations on Friday and Saturday in an effort to prevent the planned long march.
The talks ultimately ended without an agreement, with major differences remaining over issues including access to jailed PTI founder Imran Khan and military operations in terrorism-affected areas of KP.
Naqvi said the government wanted the negotiations to address the terrorism threat, while PTI did not agree to discuss the issue.
He also clarified that the federal government never asked PTI to postpone its long march, although the Pakistan Peoples Party had separately called for a delay because of the security situation.
Naqvi warned that participants in the protest would face legal proceedings and made it clear that the government would not permit the protest in Islamabad.
