KHYBER: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi on Thursday said the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf would launch a street movement in line with the directives of its founder, Imran Khan, with “full force”.

“Mr [Imran] Khan has delegated all authority regarding negotiations with the government or resistance to the leadership of the [opposition alliance] Tehreek Tahafuz Ayeen-i-Pakistan. The PTI will accept whatever decision it takes,” Mr Afridi told a jirga in his hometown Bara here.

The chief minister said a coordinated propaganda campaign was being carried out to create a false impression that the provincial government had granted approval to a military operation in the Tirah area of Khyber tribal district.

“We have repeatedly informed state institutions about the presence of militants in Tirah but no action came,” he said.

Says PTI will accept opposition alliance’s all decisions

Mr Afridi said the military operation in Tirah was planned without taking the provincial government into confidence.

He said that the tribal region was not a testing ground but it was home to people who rendered immense sacrifices for the country.

The chief minister said carrying out a military operation during heavy snowfall in Tirah was beyond comprehension.

“We vehemently support the stand of Imran Khan on the issue of military operations. He is opposed to such actions insisting they have always brought misery to the innocent tribal people,” he said.

The chief minister said the democratically elected government of former prime minister Imran Khan was toppled through an “illegal operation” followed by a sustained campaign of false and orchestrated narratives against the PTI, which countered them and would continue doing so.

He said that the provincial government convened the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Grand Peace Jirga to ensure lasting peace in the province and the country.

Mr Afridi said the jirga, which had representation of all political and religious parties and other schools of thought, presented a unanimous 15-point declaration.

He said that the peace jirga unanimously opposed a new military operation but attempts were being made to sabotage the agreed peace agenda.

The chief minister saidthat under the guise of a self-constructed terrorism narrative, efforts were being made to create an anti-governmental environment.

“Had there been a genuine intent to restore peace, the provincial government would have been taken into confidence,” he said.

Mr Afridi said decisions taken behind closed doors had always failed.

He said that those, who had deprived the tribal region of rights for 78 years, still wanted it to remain marginalised, but such attempts wouldn’t succeed.

The chief minister said that at the time of the Fata-KP merger, the residents were promised Rs1 trillion in the next 10 years but that promise was still unfulfilled.

He said that the denial of funds by the Centre had adversely affected development projects in the merged tribal districts.

Mr Afridi said that his government won’t make any compromise on the rights of tribal districts.

He said that his government was working on a comprehensive development package of Rs1 trillion for the tribal region, with a focus on meeting people’s needs in health, education and other social sectors.

The chief minister insisted that no representative of the federal government had so far contacted him regarding negotiations or any other matter.

Later, Mr Afridi visited the house of a minor patient, Zainab, in Jamrud as promised. He interacted with her and other special children present on the occasion.

Published in Dawn, December 26th, 2025