Mohsin Naqvi claims KP CM derailled near-final agreement with opposition

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi has claimed that nearly all issues had been agreed upon during negotiations with the opposition, but Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi attempted to sabotage the talks.

Speaking at a press conference in Lahore, Naqvi said the opposition delegation had participated in the negotiations in a constructive manner and made efforts to find a solution to the issue.

He said the sides had reached agreement on what could reasonably be achieved by both parties, and an agreement had also been drafted.

“I took a copy of the agreement to the President and also gave the Prime Minister a complete briefing on the negotiations,” he said.

Naqvi said there were differences over one or two issues, but agreement had been reached on 99% of the matters. He added that after returning from his meeting with the President, he was informed of several changes to the draft.

“The draft was prepared four times and changed four times,” he said.

The interior minister said the government had told the opposition that if decisions were ultimately to be made by Sohail Afridi, he should have participated in the negotiations himself.

“After the draft was finalised, the KP chief minister said he did not accept it,” Naqvi said, alleging that Afridi had attempted to sabotage the negotiations.

“If we had known that the KP government would veto the negotiations, we would not have held them in the first place,” he said.

Naqvi further said that placing “irresponsible and inexperienced people” in such positions ultimately harmed the country. He announced that there would be no further negotiations with the opposition.

The interior minister said one thing was absolutely clear: “We will not allow an incident like May 9 to happen again under any circumstances, regardless of how you come.”

He said the government would ensure that the Islamabad High Court’s order was implemented in all circumstances, adding that if any damage occurred, “Sohail Afridi alone would be responsible.”

Naqvi said he had also made it clear to the opposition delegation during the previous day’s meeting that they were free to hold protests, but would not be allowed to march on Islamabad.