Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said every possible effort had been made to work with the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government, but negotiations were sabotaged after a consensus had been reached. He described it as a “now or never” moment and said the decision to impose governor’s rule was taken out of necessity.
Addressing the PML-N parliamentary party, the prime minister said efforts had continued for two and a half years to improve matters, but negotiations were sabotaged after agreement had been reached.
Sharif said almost everything was close to being settled during the negotiations when the PTI delegation said at the final stage that it needed to consult the provincial government. He suggested that they might have been instructed there to stage another May 9, which was why everything was derailed.
The prime minister said it was a “now or never” moment for his government, leaving it with no choice but to impose governor’s rule. He said these people were unwilling to utter even a single word against terrorists.
He added that former chief minister Ali Amin Gandapur had also been assured of cooperation and that meetings had been held with Sohail Afridi. Sharif said the remarks made by the former chief minister were of a kind that even an enemy would not make.
The prime minister alleged that terrorists had been brought into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa during PTI’s government and had begun returning to Swat after PTI came to power. He said the PTI government was determined to obstruct progress and that these people had still not moved beyond D-Chowk.
Sharif said the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had always made sacrifices for Pakistan’s prosperity. He added that politicians had also made sacrifices for peace, following which peace had been established in the province.
