PESHAWAR: Advisor to the Chief Minister on Information, Barrister Muhammad Ali Saif, said on Friday that a new protest campaign was being launched to secure the release of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan.
“Yes, the KP chief minister has been instructed by Imran Khan accordingly,” he said in response to a question during his visit to the Peshawar Press Club, where he presented a cheque for Rs 50 million on behalf of the provincial government as financial assistance to the club and later talked to the media.
Responding to another question, Saif said the party had made sincere efforts for political dialogue.
“At one point, a formal negotiation committee was established, which engaged in talks with the government, but the process stalled and the committee was eventually dissolved,” he explained.
The adviser asserted that the PTI continued its efforts on political, constitutional, and legal fronts to secure the release of Imran Khan.
Saif emphasized that the only way to achieve stability was to ensure swift judicial decisions on what he described as baseless, politically motivated cases filed against Imran Khan and PTI leaders, and to release innocent political prisoners so they could rejoin the mainstream political process.
He said Imran Khan had been in prison for two years but had neither sought pardon nor relief and had borne all hardships with patience.
“Anyone who believes that keeping Imran Khan behind bars will change the political landscape is delusional. The interest of the state, the nation, and the government lies in finding a peaceful resolution to this mockery,” he added.
He described the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP)’s anti-corruption protest as the height of political hypocrisy and mockery.
“The world knows that if any party is most associated with corruption, it is the PPP,” he said.
Commenting on the use of force against the PPP’s recent protest, Saif said, “If you unlawfully enter the Red Zone and damage public property, the law will respond.
The police used only legal and reasonable force—no bullets were fired, and no extrajudicial actions were taken.”
Regarding relations with Afghanistan, Saif revealed that the KP government had repeatedly submitted formal and informal requests to the federal government for permission to send a delegation to the neighboring country to engage directly with Afghan authorities on matters affecting KP.
Saif accused the federal government of political incompetence and diplomatic inaction, claiming it was hampering provincial efforts and preventing meaningful engagement with Afghanistan.
Criticizing the federal Foreign Ministry, he stated: "The foreign minister traveled the world but failed to visit Afghanistan—our neighboring country—which is a major foreign policy failure."
In response to a question about the expulsion of Afghan nationals, Saif made it clear that the KP government disagreed with
the federal policy on the matter.
He stated that Afghan refugees were seen as brothers, and treating them with compassion and fraternity was both a humanitarian and religious obligation.
“The chief minister has repeatedly stated that the provincial government does not endorse the federal government’s approach toward the repatriation of Afghan refugees.
We believe Afghans share our language, culture, religion, and faith,” he said. Saif dispelled the impression that Afghan citizens were responsible for the province’s problems, calling such claims unfair and disconnected from reality.
He stated that the KP government was taking concrete steps to support the welfare of journalistic institutions.
“Public resources are being utilized transparently, fairly, and effectively to enhance the professional capacity, training, and institutional development of the journalistic community,” he added.