Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Muhammad Sohail Afridi on Tuesday visited Khyber district, where he met tribal elders and addressed a public jirga in Tehsil Bara.
Speaking to the gathering, the chief minister said that all political and religious parties had opposed any military operation during the Grand Peace Jirga held to ensure lasting peace in the region.
He said certain elements were trying to sabotage peace efforts by spreading propaganda, falsely claiming that he had approved a military operation. The chief minister warned that an artificial terrorism narrative was being created to build an anti-government environment.
Muhammad Sohail Afridi said that if there were sincere intentions to restore peace, the provincial government would have been taken into confidence. He added that decisions made behind closed doors have always caused harm in the past.
“The tribal areas are not an experimental ground. People live here,” he said, stressing that such plans would not be allowed to succeed.
The chief minister reaffirmed that no compromise would be made on the rights of the merged districts. He announced that preparations were underway to take the street movement to a decisive stage if required.
He also stated that no government representative had contacted him so far for negotiations on the issue.
