Government Kept ‘All Doors of Dialogue Open’ With Opposition, Says Danyal

Parliamentary Secretary for Information and Broadcasting Barrister Danyal Chaudhry said on Monday that the government had kept “all doors of dialogue open” with the opposition, insisting its policy had consistently been to resolve political differences through dialogue and reconciliation.

Addressing a news conference in Islamabad alongside the prime minister’s Coordinator for Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Affairs, Ikhtiar Wali Khan, Chaudhry said the government had engaged PTI leaders “with full sincerity” during the recent round of negotiations. “The government’s policy has always been clear that we want to take matters forward through reconciliation,” he said, framing the dialogue with opposition parties as the only way forward.

Government blames ‘voice from K-P’ for talks collapse

Chaudhry claimed that several drafts had effectively been finalised before the process broke down. “We engaged them with complete sincerity and kept every possible door to dialogue open. Despite our engagement, the drafts had been finalised, and then a voice came from K-P and dismantled the entire process,” he said.

He accused the PTI of lacking a clear decision-making structure, saying it remained uncertain who held the authority to negotiate for the party. “To this day, their party has not been able to identify with whom negotiations should be held, when they should be held and whose decision can actually be considered final. Sometimes the sisters take the lead, sometimes the K-P government takes the lead, and sometimes the opposition party takes the lead,” he said, accusing PTI leaders of misleading their supporters.

Chaudhry said the PTI’s narrative rested on anger rather than governance. “A party whose only narrative is hatred and setting things on fire has nothing else to sell. It has no performance to show,” he added.

2,456 terror incidents in K-P cited in dialogue with opposition

Turning to the province’s record, Chaudhry cited figures claiming around 2,456 terrorism-related incidents had taken place in K-P during 2026, resulting in 472 deaths. “The people of that province are living through extremely difficult conditions,” he said.

He criticised the provincial leadership for joining street protests while the province faced militant violence. “When the chief minister and ministers are standing on top of vehicles, who is running the province? In the very province where they boast of their power and raise their fists, who are they showing those fists to?” he asked.

Chaudhry also questioned the PTI government’s development record in the province, pointing to the Peshawar Bus Rapid Transit project. “They basically have two things to show. One is the BRT, which was supposed to be built for Rs6 billion and has crossed Rs100 billion, and the other is the trees they were supposed to plant,” he said.

Responding to PTI’s argument that the provincial government had not been given space to build a counterterrorism strategy, he pointed to its long rule in the province. “You have had 13 years. For 13 years you have been sitting there,” he said.

Ikhtiar Wali Khan on the counterterrorism framework

Speaking at the same news conference, Ikhtiar Wali Khan said the government had accommodated the opposition’s political demands during negotiations but claimed PTI withdrew when a firm counterterrorism framework came under discussion. He accused the PTI leadership of placing its political campaign above the province’s security situation.

Chaudhry closed with a sharp charge, telling the party: “Your remote control is in Afghanistan,” and adding, “We have to eliminate terrorism, whatever the cost.”

What did Danyal Chaudhry say about the dialogue with the opposition?

He said the government’s policy had always been to resolve political differences through dialogue and reconciliation, and that it engaged PTI leaders “with full sincerity” before the talks collapsed.

Why did the PTI-government talks fail, according to the government?

Chaudhry claimed several drafts had been finalised but “a voice came from K-P and dismantled the entire process”. Ikhtiar Wali Khan added that PTI withdrew when a firm counterterrorism framework came under discussion.

What terrorism figures did the government cite for K-P?

Chaudhry claimed around 2,456 terrorism-related incidents took place in K-P during 2026, resulting in 472 deaths, and questioned why the provincial leadership was protesting instead of focusing on security.