- Amir Muqam cites alleged unlawful actions by Afridi.
- Kundi says presidential order would trigger implementation.
- Afridi demands revised federal security policy immediately.
PESHAWAR/ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan Amir Muqam on Monday said all legal requirements for imposing governor’s rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have been fulfilled due to what he described as the “illegal” actions of Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, warning that “anything can happen at any time”.
Speaking to journalists in Peshawar, Muqam said the situation in the province was evident to everyone, with the KP’s people having faced terrorism for a long time and made significant sacrifices. He said the entire country was witnessing the hardships and sacrifices of the people of the province.
Criticising the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-led provincial government, he said the “change” government had only changed chief ministers but had failed to change the fate of the people.
Muqam said the KP people had given PTI a mandate and that the party had governed the province for 13 years, but the objectives for which people had voted for it were not visible.
He questioned the experience of the incumbent chief minister, saying that Afridi had effectively been given two targets — to “loot as much as possible” and secure the release of a prisoner.
He said education, healthcare and basic facilities were not being adequately provided in the province and that the provincial government still did not know what it intended to do.
The federal minister said the biggest issue facing Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was law and order, stressing that development would remain difficult without peace. “We live here and speak on the basis of ground realities,” Muqam said.
Muqam said security remained a major concern whenever his side participated in public gatherings and other political activities. He questioned why terrorist incidents had not occurred at PTI’s public meetings and rallies and why the party leadership did not face similar security concerns during its activities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Earlier this week, at least 13 people, including two women and a two-year-old child, were martyred when a suicide bomber rammed an explosives-laden vehicle into an anti-smuggling check post in the Darazanda area of Dera Ismail Khan.
Last week, 22 people, including 16 police officials, were martyred and 103 others injured after explosions targeted a mosque inside Kohat Police Lines during Friday prayer.
Meanwhile, KP Governor Faisal Karim Kundi said the provincial government should not go so far as to create a situation in which governor’s rule had to be imposed.
He said that if President Asif Ali Zardari issued an order for governor’s rule, it would be implemented.
‘Constitution clear on emergency’
Minister for Law and Justice Azam Nazeer Tarar, while speaking to Truth Wire, said the Constitution was clear regarding the imposition of an emergency.
He said if circumstances reached a point where the Constitution required an emergency to be imposed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, “then it should definitely be imposed and it will be imposed”.
Tarar added that all steps would be taken if the requirements stipulated in the Constitution were fulfilled.
His remarks came amid growing political tensions over the law and order situation in the province and the possibility of federal intervention.
Sohail Afridi rejects threats of governor’s rule
In response, KP Chief Minister Sohail Afridi announced that he would not retreat from his position because of threats of governor’s rule or an emergency.
Speaking at a meeting in Peshawar, Afridi called for all stakeholders in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa — including the provincial government, administration and police — to be taken into confidence before formulating a new security policy.
He said that if the new policy proposed by his government was implemented, peace could be restored in the province within 100 days, but claimed that no one was willing to listen.
Afridi maintained that changing the policy was in the interest not only of KP but of the entire country, adding that it was wrong to sacrifice the province at the altar of politics.
He said the Special Branch was being strengthened while modern weapons and necessary equipment were being provided to the police. However, he stressed that providing resources to the police alone would not resolve the problem and that the federal government would have to change its policy.
The chief minister said his government would not accept any measure taken against the wishes and public mandate of the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. “I curse such a chair that forces me to abandon my ideology,” Afridi said.
2026-09-28 17:52:00
