PESHAWAR, May 17: Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf nominee for the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister’s office Pervez Khattak on Friday requested the Taliban to stop violence, saying his party is not at war with anyone and the country belongs to them all.“Neither we are at war with anyone, including the Taliban, nor do we want war.
This country belongs to us all. We will resolve all problems through negotiations,” Mr Khattak told a news conference along with other party leaders here.
The nominated chief minister said his party wanted progress in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for which it was ready to hold talks with the Taliban.
He said several anti-social elements had been carrying out their activities by using the name of the Taliban.
Accompanied by PTI provincial president Asad Qaisar and other MPAs-elect, Mr Khattak said the delicate law and order situation was the major problem of the province as there would be no investment there unless peace was restored.
“Improving security situation in the province will be our top priority,” he said.
The nominated chief minister said the provincial bureaucracy was unrestrained and he would bring it under control with the people’s support.
He said he would not tolerate corruption of even a single penny. He added that the police system would be reformed and that community police system would be introduced.
Mr Khattak said the PTI-led government would establish a government based on justice and equity and free of corruption in the province.
He said there would be a uniform education system in the entire province, while poor patients would be provided with quality health facilities in hospitals.
He added that the local government elections would be held without delay so that power could be transferred to the grassroots level.
The nominated chief minister claimed that drastic changes would be made in the revenue, police and education systems to the benefit of the people.
About Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl’s bids to form government in the province, he said PTI had the support of around 65 MPAs-elect minus independent MPAs, so it would not allow horse trading in the province.
“We are not so weak that (JUI-F chief) Maulana Fazlur Rehman will either stop us from forming the government or dislodge it in future,” he said.
When asked about scores of police checkposts in the provincial capital, he said after once the government was formed, he would check the record to know about arrest of anti-social and anti-state elements at those checkposts before ordering removal of useless ones.
On the occasion, Asad Qaisar denied that there are differences in the party over nomination of Mr Khattak, saying Mr Khattak was the consensus candidate for the chief minister’s post.
He said under the leadership of Mr Khattak, PTI would form a model government in the province.
Mr Qaisar said PTI had given a new hope to the people, so it would try to live up to their expectations by delivering in power. On the occasion, independent MPA-elect from Kohistan Haji Abdul Khalil announced to join PTI, increasing the party’s strength in the House to 36.