PESHAWAR  -  Consul General of Afghanistan in Peshawar, Hafiz Mohibullah Shakir, on Thursday called on Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur and both discussed various matters. While the KP government termed the talks an attempt to promote goodwill, some circles believe it is not constitutional for a provincial government to hold talks with a foreign country directly.

A handout issued on Thursday said that the meeting centred around regional peace, trade promotion, the problems faced by the Afghan citizens living in KP and other issues,” said a handout issued here.

“The people on both sides of the border are bound up with each other through religion, language and culture,” said Gandapur.

He said people in both regions suffered because of the war on terror. “Now is the time to launch serious efforts for a peace in the region,” he told the Afghan diplomat.

The chief minister suggested that the federal government should form a Jirga to hold negotiations with the neighbouring Afghanistan for peace.

He said there was a great potential for trade between Pakistan and Afghanistan. “Both the countries will greatly benefit from trade activities,” he said.

The chief minister said the KP government was serious about resolving the issues of the Afghan citizens living in the province legally. “Steps will be taken to provide facilities to the Afghan students and those people from Afghanistan who were here for medical treatment,” he added.

The Afghan consul general said the people of KP had played the role of a host to the Afghan refugees for decades. “We are grateful to Pakistan, especially the people of KP for that,” he said, adding peace was a must for achieving development.

Discussing the talks, a Peshawar-based analyst Dr Sarfraz Khan said that PTI had always been criticized for promoting the cause of the Taliban.

“It is unconstitutional for the KP government to hold such talks. When the state, army, and federal government are not interested in holding talks, how can PTI provincial government do so?” said Dr Sarfraz Khan, a former director of the Area Study Centre at the University of Peshawar.

“It was PTI government that had held talk with TTP in the past. And those talk strengthened TTP as many of their fighters crossed over into Pakistan those days,” he said.