PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi on Saturday phoned heads of all major opposition parties in the province and held discussion about the overall law and order situation in the province.

During discussions, Mr Afridi announced that a grand jirga, with leaders of all political parties in attendance, would soon be convened under the provincial assembly’s in-house committee to develop a joint strategy for sustainable peace.

“The party heads will be formally invited to the jirga by Speaker of the provincial assembly Babar Saleem Swati,” he said in a statement issued by his office here.

The political leaders the chief minister spoke to included JUI-F provincial head Maulana Fazlur Rehman, ANP president Aimal Wali Khan, Jamaat-i-Islami leader Sirajul Haq, PML-N provincial chief Amir Muqam, QWP central chairman Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao and PPP leader Mohammad Ali Shah Bacha to discuss the overall law and order situation in the province.

Says jirga to be called to develop joint strategy for sustainable peace

The chief minister said while political differences were natural in a democracy, peace and stability were shared objectives across the political spectrum.

“There can be no difference of opinion when it comes to restoring peace in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,” he said.

Mr Afridi said that public safety remained the top priorities of his government and that the provincial government would make no compromise on maintaining law and order and ensuring the security of residents.

The provincial assembly’s in-house committee, a special committee on security, was formed on Sept 8 during a session of the house after the conclusion of discussion on the law and order situation in the province.

The assembly was told that the committee would be briefed by the officials involved in operations against terrorists in the province and it would decide its terms of reference for discussing ways for restoration of peace.

During the first session held on Oct 30 on the assembly’s premises, representatives of all political parties from the house met for almost four hours and suggested that all stakeholders be taken on board for a decision regarding restoration of peace.

The opposition promised all-out support to the government’s “sincere” efforts to resolve the security issue and called for building consensus on the matter.

It added that it had issues with the government but the assembly could be used as a platform. The opposition also favoured the early convening of a multi-party conference on peace.

On Oct 26, leadership of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf held a meeting and decided to convene a “peace jirga” in the house.

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The participants, including PTI chairman Barrister Gohar, Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, Speaker of the KP Assembly Babar Saleem Swati, PTI provincial president Junaid Akbar, former speaker of the National Assembly Asad Qaiser and other senior party leaders, decided that the jirga would bring together former chief ministers, governors, religious scholars, tribal elders, members of civil society, lawyers and other prominent figures from the province.

In a tweet, PTI provincial president Junaid Akbar confirmed the convening of the jirga and said the party’s government would seek guidance from participants for peace and security in the province and the future course of action.

“We, the Pakhtuns, must rise above politics and party lines, sit together and find solutions to our problems,” he noted.

An official statement later issued read that the peace jirga’s objective was to formulate a joint strategy for the eradication of terrorism and the establishment of sustainable peace in the province.

Published in Dawn, November 2nd, 2025