A combined photo of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi. PHOTO: FILE
ISLAMABAD:
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi arrived at the Prime Minister’s House on Monday for a one-on-one meeting with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, amid rising tensions between the federal and provincial governments over security and displacement of people from the Tirah Valley.
Sources said the meeting will include an exchange of views on the security situation in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, where Afridi is expected to brief the prime minister on concerns related to terrorism, the operation in Tirah and displacement of local residents. Political issues are also likely to be discussed.
Officials said the two sides may also raise the issue of outstanding dues owed by the Center to the province, as well as a possible protest planned by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf on February 8, which marks the anniversary of the 2024 general election, which the opposition party claims was rigged.
A day earlier, Afridi announced plans to convene a province-wide grand jirga and said he was preparing to launch a protest march against Islamabad over the alleged forced eviction of residents from the Tirah Valley and what he described as a federal “U-turn” on the issue.
Read: Afridi signals march towards Islamabad over Tirah
Addressing a jirga, he said the prime minister had invited him to talks on provincial rights, where he would present the case of the people of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa “with full force and determination.” Afridi said his visit was aimed at “speak the case of KP’s rights and secure our outstanding dues.”
The meeting comes amid a growing conflict over who authorized the evacuation of Tirah after hundreds of families were forced to leave their homes amid fears of a planned military operation.
While authorities initially said the evacuations were carried out with the consent of all stakeholders, including local elders, the provincial government and the military, the issue became controversial after displaced families were left in freezing conditions in the open, with alleged mismanagement worsening their situation.
Read more: KP CM opposes Tirah operation, hints at Islamabad sit-in
Earlier this week, the federal government said the movement of people from Tirah was part of routine seasonal migration and denied any military operation in the valley.
Afridi rejected the claim, calling the official position “a joke” and said the Center changed its position only after international media highlighted the “actual sufferings of the people of the valley.”
