ISLAMABAD: Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Ali Amin Gandapur, broke the ice by calling on Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday, promising to work with him “with a positive intention to resolve problems of the people,” just days after he had refused to attend the oath-taking ceremonies of both President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Sharif.
It was the first time that PTI and PML-N members met down and pledged to put aside their differences in the greater interest of serving the country, following a protracted political fight in which both sides publicly attacked each other at nearly every platform.
Imran Khan, the founder of the PTI and a former prime minister, is still believed to be behind bars, but it is thought that his trusted advisor Gandapur, who had previously voiced doubts about the legality of the coalition government’s mandate, was unable to visit the PM without the approval of his leader.
The KP chief minister was greeted warmly by PM Shehbaz, who also declared that all four provinces were federating entities, according to the PM Office. At the meeting were senior PML-N leaders Ahsan Iqbal, Ishaq Dar, Amir Muqam, and Khawaja Asif.
Both promise to put country before politics and to work together.
The PM gave the Chief Minister assurance that the center would meet all of the legitimate demands of the province of KP, even in light of the current economic crisis. “All issues must be resolved collaboratively,” he declared.
CM Gandapur later informed a press conference, escorted by federal minister Ahsan Iqbal, that the PM had promised to settle all of KP’s issues and pay the province government’s outstanding debts. “To solve people’s problems, we must cooperate. The KP’s resources will be used to improve the lot of citizens, he declared.
He claimed to have questioned the premier about the challenges PTI leaders were having meeting the party’s imprisoned leader. He continued, “PM Shehbaz promised me he would set up a meeting with Imran on this.”
I informed him that in order to settle political concerns, political involvement with Khan sahib is imperative. He was really encouraging and made it clear that he would arrange for our meeting to enable me to finish my discussions on the Senate election,” the man stated.
CM Gandapur reported that he and the PM had extremely “positive” conversations about law and order, national and local issues, and other topics. “It was really encouraging, and the premier assured and offered full support,” he remarked.
The PM gave an order for a combined team to work on KP concerns, according to Federal Minister of Planning Ahsan Iqbal. Mr. Iqbal summed up the discussion today in two words: “We all have our own politics, but the state is together.”
He said that in regards to KP dues, the prime minister had required officials from the finance ministry to meet with KP officials.
