KARACHI: Pervez Khattak, the chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), has offered to hold talks with the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM), after army-mandated negotiations between the group and the KP governor stalled.
Khattak appealed to the PTM leadership to attend a Jirga, a traditional assembly of leaders, chaired by KP governor so that the issues and their demands can be discussed and resolved in accordance with the constitution.
“I will personally hold talks with the PTM leadership and try to address their grievances,” Khattak added.
PTM want to discuss issues of discrimination against the Pashtun community, including enforced disappearances, extrajudicial arrests and killings, and general abuses of their rights.
“Some of the basic demands of PTM are genuine, which should be resolved,” said Shaukat Ali Yousafzai, a spokesman for the KP government. 
However, he said the group’s actions “may take things in wrong direction,” adding that “in such scenario we deem it our responsibility to play a mediatory role in talks.”
“We have remained in contact with the PTM leaders,” he continued, but admitted the government has yet to come with a proposal for talks.  
Ali Wazir, a member of PTM’s core committee, said Khattak’s offer was just a continuation of the offer of discussions that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan had extended through party member Murad Saeed, a lawmaker from Swat.
“Violating the rules of the Jirga, Imran Khan, instead of coming to meet the PTM which is an aggrieved party, is summoning its leadership to Bani Gala, which is not possible,” Wazir said.
He confirmed the talks between the PTM and the army-mandated Jirga were deadlocked.
“A jirga has rules and principles which bind both the parties,” he said. “It was decided that until the final agreement is reached, no one would level any allegations.” He added that one of the jirga members, Waris Khan Afridi, recently described PTM members as traitors during a public meeting in Khyber Agency. “If it was not enough, Afridi also demanded action against us,” he said.
Since the rules of the Jirga demand such issues be settled first, PTM has asked for a meeting about it, Wazir said, so that everyone can move on when the issue is resolved.
He also said it had been agreed that no member of the jirga would face criminal charges but this condition has also been violated.
“Can we hold talks under such circumstances when we are answerable to thousands of people who have stood for the cause?” asked Wazir. “The army and PTM are parties in this issue. The governor and chief minister should stand by us. There is no need for jirga since we have a constitution to resolve our issues, which are legal and ethical under the constitution of Pakistan.”
Wazir said PTM leaders would hold a meeting on Friday evening regarding a planned rally in Karachi.
PTM recently received criticism for calls from some members that international guarantors be present during talks with the KP government.
“Talking of UN guarantees amounts to asking for a UN intervention,” said Imtiaz Gul, a senior analyst and author. “Either PTM leaders don’t understand what they are talking about or it is part of the old campaign to involve the international community in Pakistan’s domestic affairs.”