PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Khan Gandapur on Tuesday said that mortar shelling, drone strikes and using fighter jets against terrorists was the constitutional right of the military and that the provincial government could not stop it.

Talking to reporters on the premises of the Peshawar High Court, Mr Gandapur his government had no control over such actions; therefore, it could not stop them.

However, he said that they had stance over ending this war, which was through dialogue. Besides, he said that whenever civilians were killed, the provincial government had always condemned it.

He said that the civilian losses in the fight against terrorism were not acceptable at all costs and his government had always voiced its opposition.

He said that the KP government was of the view that the issue could be resolved through dialogue. He said that time had proven that military operations were not a solution; rather, terrorism had further increased after such actions. He said that the KP government was criticised for proposing talks with Afghanistan government to end terrorism in the region.

Mr Gandapur, however, said that informal contacts with Afghanistan government in that regard were positive. He said that they would share the names of tribal elders who would take part in talks with the Afghan administration with the federal government this week.

Published in Dawn, September 24th, 2025