LAHORE – Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi has claimed that the government and opposition had reached agreement on almost all issues during negotiations, but Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi attempted to sabotage the talks at the final stage.
Addressing a press conference in Lahore, Naqvi said the opposition delegation had participated in the negotiations in a constructive manner and made serious efforts to find a solution to the ongoing political dispute.
He said the negotiating teams had settled most of the issues that could reasonably be agreed upon by both sides, and a draft agreement had also been prepared.
“I took a copy of the agreement to the President and also fully briefed the prime minister about the negotiations,” Naqvi said.
The interior minister said there had been differences over only one or two issues, while 99 percent of the matters had been agreed upon.
However, he said that after returning from his meeting with the President, he was informed that several changes had been proposed to the draft.
“Four drafts were prepared and the draft was changed four times,” he said.
Naqvi alleged that the situation changed after KP Chief Minister Sohail Afridi became involved in the process.
“We told them that if Sohail Afridi had to make the decisions, he should have come to the negotiations himself,” the interior minister said.
He claimed that after the draft had been finalised, the KP chief minister refused to accept it.
“Sohail Afridi tried to sabotage the negotiations. If we had known that the KP government would veto the talks, we would not have entered into negotiations in the first place,” Naqvi said.
The interior minister also criticised the decision-making process, saying that when people he described as “non-serious and inexperienced” were placed in important positions, the country ultimately suffered.
Naqvi categorically ruled out further negotiations with the opposition.
“There will be no more negotiations with the opposition now,” he said.
‘May 9-like incident will not be allowed’
Naqvi further warned that the government would not allow a repeat of the events of May 9 under any circumstances.
“One thing is absolutely clear: we will not allow another incident like May 9 to happen, no matter what form you come in,” he said.
He said the government would take steps to ensure that the Islamabad High Court’s order was restored and warned that Sohail Afridi would be held responsible if any damage or untoward incident occurred.
‘PTI can protest, but Islamabad assault will not be allowed’
Referring to the previous day’s meeting with the opposition delegation, Naqvi said he had made the government’s position clear.
“I told the opposition delegation in yesterday’s meeting that they can certainly hold a protest, but under no circumstances will we allow an assault on Islamabad,” he said.
He warned that anyone involved in the protest who violated the law would face legal action.
“Any worker or leader who is arrested for participating in the protest will face full legal proceedings,” Naqvi said.
He added that the government would not spare anyone if PTI workers or leaders violated the law.
“If PTI members break the law, we will not let them go. We will pursue them,” he said.
The remarks came after marathon government-opposition talks ended in a deadlock over the PTI’s planned march towards Islamabad. Government representatives have said the negotiations also involved commitments related to counterterrorism and cooperation between the federal and KP governments.
