Pakistan Opposition Alliance Urges for Dialogue with Afghanistan

DID Press: Pakistan’s opposition alliance, Tehreek-e-Tahafuz Ayeen-e-Pakistan (TTAP), on Sunday voiced support for Saudi Arabia’s call for dialogue with Afghanistan and urged the government to convene a joint session of parliament to address pressing domestic and foreign issues.

The alliance — comprising several opposition parties that have rejected the 2024 election results, alleging widespread fraud — also accused the Pakistani government of obstructing the transfer of power to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)’s elected chief minister in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

In its statement, TTAP said that disputes between Pakistan and Afghanistan should be resolved through dialogue, calling on the government to organize a joint parliamentary session to deliberate on both internal and external challenges.

The alliance further condemned remarks by several federal ministers, saying their comments had obstructed the transfer of power in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and may worsen the province’s already fragile security situation.

TTAP also denounced the Election Commission of Pakistan’s decision to designate provincial assembly members from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as “independent candidates,” calling it undemocratic and an attempt to encourage vote-buying in the provincial legislature.

Participants expressed concern over the deteriorating security and terrorism threats in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, stressing that both provincial governments and local communities must be involved in any decision-making to resolve these issues.

Meanwhile, Irfan Siddiqui, a senator from Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), dismissed TTAP’s statement as “shameful,” accusing the coalition of maligning security forces instead of condemning militants. He added that the call for talks had long been used as a pretext, allowing militants to find safe havens in the province.

The TTAP meeting was held at the Islamabad residence of Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar.