Pakistani province’s chief says won’t back military operation, urges talks with Afghanistan
PESHAWAR: The chief minister of Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, Ali Amin Gandapur, on Saturday opposed any military operation in the region and instead called for dialogue with Afghanistan, as he addressed a rally demanding the release of his party’s jailed founder Imran Khan.
KP shares a long and porous border with Afghanistan, with strong cultural and linguistic ties to Pashtun populations across the frontier. The province has seen a surge in militant violence in recent years, with Islamabad accusing groups based in Afghanistan of cross-border attacks — allegations the Taliban government in Kabul denies.
Relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan soured in 2023 when Islamabad cracked down on undocumented migrants, most of them Afghans, after a wave of deadly suicide bombings and militant assaults in which officials said Afghan nationals were involved, though no evidence was shared publicly.
While the federal government and military have taken a hard line on Kabul, the KP administration has signaled it favors engagement with the Afghan Taliban.
