Kundi again tries to bury hatchet with Gandapur

PESHAWAR:

Amid their ongoing spat, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi of the PPP on Sunday tried to mend ties with Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur of the PTI again as he said that he invited the provincial chief executive to the Governor House once more and if he felt any “embarrassment” in doing so, then he was willing to visit him at the CM House.

“I am willing to meet with the chief minister at all times for the rights of the province,” he told the participants of a public gathering organised in Dargai town of Malakand.

“Any problem should be sorted out through talks in a reasonable manner instead of incivility,” he added.
The governor pledged to play the role of a bridge builder between the federation and the province.

Reiterating the stance of his party’s co-chairperson, President Asif Ali Zardari, Kundi ruled out the imposition of the governor’s rule in the province, saying that the PPP believed in democracy.

In recent days, the confrontation between the K-P governor and chief minister has escalated.

Addressing a public rally earlier this month, the K-P chief minister warned the federal government that if it imposed governor’s rule in the province, his party would take over the Governor’s House.

In response to the CM’s threat, the governor replied that he held a constitutional position and knew how to protect it.

The provincial government also imposed a ban on Kundi from entering premises of the K-P House in Islamabad.

Its spokesperson, Barrister Saif, announced on May 15 that the block allocated for the governor in the K-P House had been abolished.

Read Kundi vows to support K-P govt

Even PTI founding chairman Imran Khan had complained about the governor’s verbal “personal attacks” on Gandapur.

On previous Sunday, Kundi decided to patch up matters with the chief minister, inviting him for dinner to bury the hatchet but Gandapur turned down the offer.

During this visit to Dargai, the governor told the participants of the gathering that he wanted to fight the case of the province on the relevant forum.

He continued that he invited the provincial government and all political parties to join him in his fight for the case of the province.

Kundi claimed that the Governor’s House belonged to all political parties.

“Political contests will be held in the elections, but now is the time for performance.”

The governor said he had advised the federation that the three power companies in K-P should be handed over to the province.

He added that the provincial government would be responsible for their profits and losses.
The elders there informed the governor about residents’ concerns over the imposition of taxes in Malakand.

Kundi told them that the exemption from taxes was PPP founder and former premier Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s gift.

He assured them that he would take up the matter with the federal government.

“We will try to solve this problem according to the wishes of the people of Malakand Division,” he continued.

The governor told them repeatedly staging protests was not a solution, but a permanent one would have to be found.