KP Governor Kundi Criticises Fazlur Rehman, Announces Intelligence-Based Counter-Terror Operations

PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi has criticised Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, saying he is aggrieved at not being given a share in power. He was speaking at a ceremony and to the media in Peshawar.

According to the governor, intelligence-based operations are being carried out to end terrorism, and these will reduce terrorist incidents in the province. He said there would be no leniency for those waging war against the state, and that this war would be won at any cost.

Faisal Karim Kundi questioned who Maulana Fazlur Rehman had appointed as governor when he was part of the PDM government. He said the policy under which the children of the poor go to fight in jihad while their own children are sent to Europe and Turkey will no longer work.

The governor also said the previous provincial government did not support the state in the fight against terrorism. He said the fight would be given full political ownership, although good initiatives of the previous government would continue.

He said 17,000 posts in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police are vacant, not 10,000, and these would be filled quickly and transparently. The police will be equipped with modern weapons.

Referring to corruption in provincial departments, the governor said bills in the finance department were approved after a 12 per cent cut. Relevant bodies are investigating, and the results will be made public once solid evidence is found.

Responding to criticism over the use of helicopters, he said they are meant for the governor, chief minister and prime minister, and that the previous incumbents had used them for official purposes. He said a mechanism is being developed to address complaints from people affected by the anti-encroachment drive and to provide alternative sites for street vendors. Work is also under way to deal with attacks on polio workers.