Peshawar, Jan 21 (PTI) Pakistan's Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Khan Gandapur has announced plans to send a delegation to Afghanistan within two weeks to address Pak-Afghan issues, including cross-border militancy.

Talking to the media on Monday, Gandapur said that terrorism in the region cannot be eliminated through operations, air strikes and use of force.

Also Read | Share Market Today: Sensex Tanks Over 1,200 Points, Nifty Ends at 23,024 Amid US President Donald Trump's Tariff Threats to BRICS Nations and Other Countries.

"The federal government talked about negotiations with Afghanistan over bilateral issues, but there's no success. Now, the dialogue with Kabul will be held at the provincial level. A delegation of our [KP] government will meet Afghan officials within two weeks,” Gandapur told reporters.

The nation has been reeling under rising violent attacks since the Taliban rulers returned to power in Afghanistan in 2021, particularly in the bordering provinces of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.

Also Read | US Birthright Citizenship Rules Changed: Who Will Not Get US Citizenship After Donald Trump’s Executive Order? What Does It Mean for Indian Parents on Temporary Visas Like H-1B?.

The year 2024 turned out to be the deadliest for Pakistan's civil and military security forces in a decade, with at least 685 fatalities and 444 terror attacks, according to “CRSS Annual Security Report 2024" issued by the Centre for Security and Strategic Studies.

Gandapur said that in the next phase, a delegation of tribal elders from the province would engage with the Afghan Taliban government to strike a peace agreement. He expressed optimism that the Afghan government would cooperate with the provincial teams.

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party believes in the resolution of issues through negotiations and not the use of force with neighbours, he said.

The chief minister criticized his Punjab counterpart, Maryam Nawaz, for a diatribe against his party.

The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz-led federal government had made fake cases against political rivals, especially PTI leaders and workers, he said.

The chief minister insisted that PTI founder Imran Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, were being unfairly targeted over the Al-Qadir Trust affair.

Al-Qadir Trust University offered free education to poor students, the PTI founder and his wife, who initiated that project, were targeted out of political revenge, he said.

The chief minister said that Khan and Bushra Bibi believed in the rule of law despite their “illegal” punishment in the Al-Qadir Trust case.

A court on Friday sentenced Khan and Bushra Bibi to 14 and seven years in prison respectively, after finding them guilty of corruption in the 190 million pounds al-Qadir Trust case.

Meanwhile, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi has termed the chief minister's announcement to send a delegation to Afghanistan a ‘filmi dialogue'.

“If they were serious for peace, they would have talked to the federal government,” the governor was quoted as saying by the ARY News.

“If you cannot control the province, summon the military,” Kundi said. “You could not maintain the writ at 25 kilometres road in Kurram,” he said.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)