Chief Minister (CM) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Ali Amin Gandapur has extended an offer of cooperation for the establishment of a cancer hospital in Afghanistan, the Afghan embassy said on Saturday.
Pakistan has built several medical facilities in Afghanistan, including a big Jinnah Hospital in the capital, Kabul.
Afghan Ambassador to Pakistan, Sardar Ahmad Shakeeb, met with the Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa at Khyber Pakhtunkhwa House Friday night.
“During the meeting, detailed discussions were held on bilateral relations between the two countries, trade, transit, Afghan refugees, people-to-people connectivity, and other related matters,” the Afghan embassy said in a statement posted on X.
“Both sides emphasised that Pakistan and Afghanistan share deep ties based on a shared line, common language, and ethnic, tribal, and religious connections, which should be further strengthened through peace, brotherhood, and mutual respect,” the statement further said.
Sources told Hum News English that the Chief Minister KP and Afghan envoy also discussed a long-pending proposal of sending a Jirga to Afghanistan to seek Taliban leaders’ help in peace in the province.
In September last year, Gandapur had announced sending a delegation to Kabul to speak to the Afghan Taliban and seek their help in bringing peace to KP.
“You don’t even care, and the people of my province are being martyred day by day. I will sit and talk with Afghanistan myself and resolve this issue. I will never compromise on the people of my province. I am answerable to my people,” the CM had told a gathering of lawyers in Peshawar on Sept. 11, 2024.
The federal government and the Foreign Office opposed the idea on the plea that a province cannot interfere in relations with other countries.
Defence Minister Khawaja Asif had described the CMP KP’s announcement as a “direct attack on the federation” of Pakistan.
According to sources, the federal government had informed Afghan officials that it does not endorse Gandapur’s initiative.
“This is the main reason for Kabul’s unwillingness to receive the Jirga and had asked both the Pakistani central and KP governments to resolve differences on the Jirga,” sources said earlier.
CM KP discussed the Jirga with the Afghan delegation as an increase in attacks has been witnessed in the province in recent weeks.
On June 28 a roadside bomb attack on a convoy had martyred 13 soldiers in North Waziristan, one of the seven tribal districts.
Militants linked to Hafiz Gul Bahadur group had claimed responsibility. Pakistani officials say all Pakistani armed groups operate from Afghan soil, a charge which Afghan Taliban deny.
A central leader of Awami National Party Maulana Khanzeb was assassinated in a firing incident in Bajaur on July 10.
Days earlier, an assistant commissioner and several other officials lost their lives in a bomb attack in Bajaur.
