PM Shehbaz says Governor’s Rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa imposed out of “extreme compulsion”

PESHAWAR: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Thursday that Governor’s Rule and an emergency were imposed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa out of “extreme compulsion”. He was addressing a meeting of the federal apex committee in Peshawar to review the province’s security situation. It is his first visit to the province since both measures were imposed on 11 October.

The meeting was attended by Chief of Defence Forces and Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, Governor Faisal Karim Kundi, federal ministers and the province’s new advisers. According to The Express Tribune, the prime minister said a political committee had been formed to resolve the issue and its members worked for 48 hours. He said he consulted President Asif Ali Zardari twice before the decision. He said the Constitution and the law empower the government to take these steps. He thanked the allies, including President Zardari and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz President Nawaz Sharif.

According to Shehbaz Sharif, peace had been restored by 2017 and 2018 through the sacrifices of the security institutions and citizens. He said nearly 80,000 people were martyred in the war on terror and the country suffered losses of billions of dollars. He alleged that the PTI government allowed terrorists to return.

The prime minister accused the former provincial government of neglecting education, health and law and order. He said 5,000 police posts remained vacant, the Safe City project is incomplete and no attention was paid to CTD training and modern weapons. He said the province received more than Rs800 billion for counter-terrorism under the 2010 NFC Award. According to The News, he also alleged embezzlement of Rs100 billion in the clean drinking water project and corruption of Rs37 billion in the Kohistan scandal.

The prime minister announced an advisory council of experts from various fields. He promised that prosperity would be brought to the province with the cooperation of the Field Marshal. Addressing the development council of representatives of the tribal districts, he announced development projects worth Rs160 billion for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He said he had directed the governor and the chief secretary to supply the wheat the province needs.