Ali Amin Gandapur calls Faisal Vawda 'comedian', 'lowly person'

Days after Senator Faisal Vawda claimed that Chief Minister (CM) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Ali Amin Gandapur condemned the May 9 incident during an in-camera session of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security (PCNS), Gandapur retaliated by calling Vawda a “comedian” and “lowly person.”

Appearing on a private news outlet on Wednesday, Vawda, who attended the PCNS’s in-camera session, quoted Gandapur as saying, “Ap un ko sazain dain, wo gumrah ho gaye thy [punish them [rioters] as they had been misguided].”

Declaring CM KP’s statement in the session as “positive and optimistic,” Vawda emphasised that Gandapur’s approach deserves appreciation.

The in-camera meeting was held on Tuesday as Pakistan grapples with a resurgence of terrorism, particularly in KP and Balochistan, with security forces and law enforcement agencies facing increasingly frequent attacks.

Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Syed Asim Munir, Director General Inter-Services Intelligence (DG ISI) Lieutenant General Asim Malik, chief ministers of all four provinces, including Gandapur, and other top officials attended the in-camera session of PCNS in Islamabad. However, the opposition's biggest party, PTI, did not participate in the meeting.

Speaking to reporters on Friday, CM KP urged officials to not summon Faisal Vawda to any high-profile meeting. “I will not attend a meeting where such a lowly and unreasonable person is present,” he said.

He went on to claim that Vawda is a “comedian”. 

"He’s just a comedian. I know him—he was in our party and was the first to run away. He is a coward and a disgraceful person.”

On being asked about whether the PTI is currently in contact with the establishment regarding the release of party founder Imran Khan, Gandapur replied that there is not a single legitimate case on Imran Khan, adding that the latter is being forcibly incarcerated.

When asked, “Imran Khan was in favor of negotiations with the Taliban. Do you think negotiations should take place with the Taliban, or is a military operation the only solution,” CM KP said that the whole world has recognised the Taliban government in Afghanistan.

“There is a 2,200 km border between one of our provinces and Afghanistan. If you do not negotiate with them, how will matters be resolved," CM KP questioned, adding that he fully supports negotiations with the Taliban and believes that a solution can be found through dialogue.