PESHAWAR
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s opposition parties have rejected the PTI-led provincial government’s invitation for an all-party conference (APC), set to take place tomorrow (Thursday).
KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur has convened the APC at the Chief Minister’s House in Peshawar tomorrow to discuss the recent surge in terrorist activities.
“Those who won’t attend the APC will reveal they have no concern for the people,” Gandapur told reporters in Peshawar on Wednesday after the opposition parties rejected his offer.
The development comes just days after the provincial government and the opposition parties had agreed on the Senate seat distribution — showing a rare instance where they were on the same page and even followed through on it.
In their statements, the Awami National Party (ANP), Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) rejected the offer, with one of them terming it a mere “eyewash”. A spokesperson for the JUI-F confirmed that the party will not attend the APC called by the PTI-led government. The ANP has also decided to boycott the conference. ANP leader Mian Iftikhar Hussain stated that the APC is being organised by the provincial government, not PTI, and that all key decisions have already been made. “There is no longer any need for an APC,” he remarked. “We will not attend a conference called by the government.”
Similarly, the PPP has declined to attend. PPP Khyber Pakhtunkhwa President Mohammad Ali Shah Bacha criticised the provincial government, calling it insincere and dismissing the APC as a mere “eye wash”. “Numerous discussions have already taken place on law and order and other issues, but they have yielded no results,” he said. “The provincial government should first disengage from its sit-ins and protests and focus on addressing public concerns.”
