Govt keeps dialogue door open with PTI, says Danyal Chaudhry

The federal government has said it remains willing to engage in dialogue with the opposition, despite the failure of recent talks with PTI.

Parliamentary Secretary for Information and Broadcasting Barrister Danyal Chaudhry said on Monday that reconciliation remained the government’s preferred way of resolving political differences.

Speaking at a press conference alongside Prime Minister’s Coordinator for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Affairs Ikhtiar Wali Khan, Chaudhry said the government had participated in negotiations with PTI representatives in good faith.

He claimed that several points had been agreed upon during the discussions before disagreements emerged from the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa side and disrupted the process.

Chaudhry also criticised PTI’s internal decision-making, saying the party had failed to establish who had the authority to make final decisions during negotiations. He alleged that different PTI leaders and groups were giving conflicting directions.

The parliamentary secretary accused PTI of pursuing confrontational politics instead of focusing on governance and criticised the provincial government’s performance in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

He specifically questioned the cost of the Peshawar Bus Rapid Transit project and the province’s tree plantation programme, which he presented as major examples of the PTI government’s performance.

Chaudhry said the government’s primary concern during the negotiations was the deteriorating security situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa rather than simply stopping PTI’s planned march.

He cited government figures claiming that around 2,456 terrorism-related incidents had occurred in the province during 2026, resulting in 472 deaths.

He questioned the role of the provincial leadership in addressing militancy while the chief minister and other ministers were participating in the political march.

Chaudhry also rejected PTI’s argument that the provincial government had not been given enough authority to develop an effective counterterrorism strategy. He pointed to the party’s lengthy tenure in the province and said it had sufficient time to address the security challenge.

He maintained that police personnel confronting militants were working to protect the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and stressed that terrorism had to be eliminated regardless of the cost.

Meanwhile, Ikhtiar Wali Khan said the government had accommodated several political demands raised by the opposition during the negotiations. However, he alleged that PTI backed away when discussions turned towards a firm framework for countering militancy.

The government representatives also accused PTI of placing its political campaign above the province’s security concerns.