Daily Times

Leaders of the Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM) and members of a government-nominated jirga Sunday agreed to continue the dialogue process to develop a consensus over the demands raised by the PTM in its public gatherings.

Another round of talks was held at the Civil Officers Mess in Peshawar on Sunday, attended by representatives of the PTM as well as members the government-backed jirga.

Representatives from both the sides agreed to hold another round of talks at the Civil Officers Mess on July 8, said advocate Abdul Latif Afridi, who represents PTM, while briefing media over developments made in the session. He was hopeful that reservations and grievances of PTM would certainly be resolved via negotiations.

“Our issues are combined and we will solve those via talks in a peaceful manner … our grievances and reservations will be gradually resolved,” he said. Regarding next round of talks, Afridi said both representatives of the PTM and the government will take part in next session with full authority.

Meanwhile, the PTM on Sunday expelled seven of its core committee members including Mohsin Dawar and Ali Wazir for being involved in the upcoming general elections.

Dr Alam Mehsud justified the action saying that the PTM was created to fight for the people’s rights and has no ambition to be involved in politics or elections.

The other members who have been expelled are Abdullah Nangiyal, Irshad Tony, Hamid Sherani, Abdul Wahid and Jamal Maliyar – all of them contesting the upcoming polls.

Dr Mehsud said that the decision was taken by the PTM’s core committee led by Manzoor Pashteen. He explained that since the PTM has no membership process and comprises just of the core committee, removal from the committee effectively means removal from the PTM.

Published in Daily Times, July 2^nd 2018.