ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Secretary General Salman Akram Raja on Sunday said that the main reason for the failure in negotiations between the government and PTI was the government’s insistence that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government own all actions unilaterally initiated by the federal government, as well as, its institutions against terrorism in the province.
Raja, who was part of the opposition’s six-member negotiation team, said in a post on X (formerly Twitter) that the talks between the government and PTI/ Tehreek Tahafuz Aain-e-Pakistan (TTAP) failed because the government team was insisting that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government endorse all actions and operations unilaterally carried out by the federal government and its institutions against terrorism in the province.
The PTI secretary general said that the government team also sought the endorsement of the opposition and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government for the imposition of an emergency within 72 hours in the merged tribal districts—formerly called the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA)—and adjacent areas.
The PTI/ TTAP team adopted the stance that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had zero tolerance for terrorism and was committed to eliminating the menace.
“This was not acceptable to the government team, which insisted that all actions unilaterally initiated by it would have to be owned by the provincial government,” he said, adding that the PTI-TTAP team was clear that they have zero tolerance for terrorism and are committed to rooting it out.
“We also have a clear position against so-called collateral damage in the form of innocent lives and the internal displacement of the local population,” he said.
He said that the opposition team also adopted the stance that policies and actions aimed at fighting terror must have the support of the local population and be based on ground intelligence. “The wisdom provided by the jirga held in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa assembly— which included all the political and tribal notables of the province, including the merged districts—must be heeded. This was not acceptable to the federal government,” he said.
He said that the PTI has consistently opposed what it describes as “blind operations,” arguing that such operations can result in civilian casualties and the displacement of large numbers of people within their own province.
However, PTI leader Haleem Adil Sheikh, another member of the six-member opposition negotiation team, said in a post on X that the committee was formed under the supervision of the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate, Raja Nasir Abbas, and had the backing of the PTI core and political committees.
He said that the opposition team remained in consultation throughout the talks with the Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly, Mahmood Khan Achakzai, and also remained in contact with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi.
Sheikh said that several issues were discussed during the negotiations, with both sides reaching an agreement on some points but the discussions ultimately broke down over three points, including a meeting with incarcerated Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founding chairman and former premier Imran Khan. The opposition team told the government that only Khan had the authority to cancel the long march, and therefore, a meeting with him was mandatory. “When the government team did not agree to the demand, the opposition proposed that Raja Nasir Abbas be allowed to meet Khan instead, but that proposal was also rejected,” he said.
He said that the second point was concerned Khan’s health and medical treatment. The government did not agree to the proposal Khan’s personal doctors be allowed to be the part of the medical team, he said.
Sheikh said that the third point of disagreement was security and counterterrorism policy in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The opposition called for decisions on the issue not to be taken unilaterally and demanded that the federal and provincial governments consult all relevant stakeholders, including parliamentary political parties, to formulate a joint and agreed course of action under the National Action Plan against terrorism.
The talks between opposition and government team were held at the chambers of the National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq in parliament house. The government committee comprising of Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, Minister for States and Frontier Regions Amir Muqam, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Tariq Fazal Chaudhry, Prime Minister’s Adviser on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah and Minister of State for Interior Tallal Chaudhry. Senator Sherry Rehman, along with MNAs Syed Naveed Qamar and Aijaz Hussain Jakhrani, represented the PPP.
The opposition team includes Senate Opposition Leader Allama Raja Nasir Abbas, PTI interim chairman Gohar Ali Khan, Opposition Chief Whip Amir Dogar, MNA Asad Qaiser, PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja and PTI Sindh President Haleem Adil Sheikh.
Raja said that the PTI-TTAP team stood firm on its principled position that anti-terrorism actions in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa would be based on an agreement between the federal government and the provincial government, and would be framed on the basis of consultation with, and the buy-in of, the different political parties represented in the provincial assembly.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026