PESHAWAR – The banned Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) has been granted permission by the administration to hold a three-day jirga in the Khyber district, adjacent to Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The jirga is currently underway in the Ghundi Regi Lalma area of Jamrud.
On Wednesday, PTM workers gathering for the jirga were reportedly fired upon by security personnel, leading to a lengthy consultative meeting chaired by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur on Thursday. Following this meeting, negotiations took place between provincial assembly speaker Saleem Swati and the PTM delegation in Jamrud. Later that evening, Chief Minister Gandapur met with PTM leader Manzoor Ahmad Pashteen, agreeing on the peaceful conduct of the jirga.
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After the consultations, Chief Minister Gandapur stated that the PTM jirga is being held in accordance with Pashtun traditions and assured that any decisions or proposals arising from the meeting would be implemented. Manzoor Pashteen confirmed that the PTM jirga is a collective Pashtun gathering and urged that no one could claim ownership of it.
Gandapur expressed his intention to host the PTM jirga, while he attributed the recent security incident, which resulted in the deaths of four individuals, to federal government interference in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He affirmed that the decisions and proposals from the PTM jirga will be implemented.
Gandapur dismissed the federal government’s ban on the PTM as laughable, while Pashteen condemned the labeling of a peaceful political party as a terrorist organization. Pashteen asserted that true terrorists are those who train and harbor actual terrorists.
Pashteen also criticized the ban on PTM and mentioned that it was announced that anyone meeting him or PTM would face blocked identification documents. He sarcastically suggested that the chief minister should start with this process, to which Gandapur humorously responded that his ID card and wallet were already missing.
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Recently, Federal Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi stated that those facilitating the banned PTM would face legal repercussions, including blocked ID cards and passports.
Prior to granting permission for the gathering, negotiations took place in Amir Muhammad Khan’s hujra in Jamrud, adjacent to Hayatabad.
Political leaders, including opposition leader Dr. Ibad, Awami National Party’s Mian Iftikhar Hussain, and Sikandar Hayat Khan Sherpao from the Qaumi Watan Party, were present during the discussions. Iftikhar expressed hope that the peaceful conduct of the PTM jirga would pave the way for lasting peace.
Earlier on Thursday, a consultative meeting hosted by the Chief Minister included Federal Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi, and other political leaders to assess the situation.
The PTM announced plans to conduct a jirga called the “Pashtun National Court” on October 11 in Jamrud to address the unrest in the province. However, police raided the designated PTM jirga site in Ghundi on Wednesday, leading to allegations from the PTM that security forces fired on their workers, resulting in casualties.
