ISLAMABAD (Pakistan News): Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has said that every possible effort was made to improve the situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa before imposing governor’s rule, but negotiations were derailed despite a consensus being reached on several issues, leaving no room for further delay.
Addressing the parliamentary party of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), the prime minister said the federal government had consistently tried to improve relations with the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provincial government. However, despite agreement on several matters during the talks, the negotiations were not allowed to move forward.
Shehbaz Sharif said efforts to improve relations with the provincial government had continued over the past two and a half years. However, in view of the circumstances, the government eventually had to decide to impose governor’s rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The prime minister said negotiations had been close to success when, at the final stage, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) delegation took the position that it needed to consult the provincial government. He said it was possible that the delegation had received instructions from the provincial leadership to stage another incident similar to May 9, which caused the talks to collapse.