By Khawaja Hamza
PESHAWAR, Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif here on Thursday said that the government and military leadership were working together for sustainable peace and development on a fast track basis in Khyber Pakthunkhwa.
Addressing the Federal Apex Committee of National Action Plan here at Governor House, the Prime Minister said that difficult decisions had to be taken in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa due to the deteriorating law and order situation, expressing the resolve that the federal government, in cooperation with the military leadership would soon be able to restore durable peace, development and prosperity in the terrorism-affected districts of the province.
The high level meeting of the federal apex committee was attended by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Muhammad Ishaq Dar, Chief of Army Staff and Chief of Defence Forces Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, Governor Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Faisal Karim Kundi, Federal Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal, Interior Minister Syed Mohsin Naqvi, Federal Minister for Law Azam Nazeer Tarar, Federal Minister for Kashmir Affairs, Gilgit-Baltistan and SAFRON Engineer Amir Muqam, Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Ahad Khan Cheema, Federal Minister for Finance Muhammad Aurangzeb, Minister for Petroleum Ali Pervez Malik, Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar, Federal Minister for Power Sardar Awais Leghari, Prime Minister’s Adviser Rana Sanaullah, senior military leadership and senior officers of the relevant department.
Addressing the Federal Apex Committee, Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif said KP was a beautiful province inhabited by courageous, brave and resilient people, adding that the federal government had been compelled to impose constitutional measures of emergency and Governor’s rule in the province under extraordinary difficult circumstances.
He prayed to Allah Almighty to help the government and people advance the process of peace and development in the province. The prime minister also expressed deep sorrow over the tragic death of a female teacher and children in the recent school roof collapse in Peshawar and expressed sympathies with the victims.
The prime minister said he had directed the Governor KP to immediately visit the affected site of the school at Dir Colony and ensure a complete investigation into the tragic incident.
“KP has been badly affected by the difficult situation created over the past several years,” he said, adding that the deterioration of law and order during the last six years had caused serious damage to peace and development in the province.
The prime minister recalled that Pakistan’s armed forces and security institutions had rendered immense sacrifices for protection of the motherland and successfully defeated terrorism in KP and other parts of the country. “By 2018, complete peace had been restored in KP,” he said, adding that the peace was achieved through sacrifices rendered by security personnel as well as mothers, sisters, politicians and children.
He said that around 80,000 people had lost their lives in the war against terrorism, while the country’s economy had suffered losses worth billions of dollars. The prime minister said that several political families in KP had also made great sacrifices in the fight against terrorism, with many families being devastated as a result of the conflict.
He regretted that after peace had been restored in 2018, terrorists were brought back by a party that plunged the province into a deep crisis in its 13-year rule and undermined sacrifices made in the fight against terrorism. Resultantly, the people of the province bore the adverse consequences due to criminal negligence of the PTI rulers. “For the future of the country’s children, thousands of soldiers of our security forces sacrificed their lives. There can be no greater disservice to the country than failing to recognize and respect these great sacrifices,” he remarked.
The prime minister claimed that during the PTI government, all areas of public welfare, including education, health and security, were badly neglected in KP, resulting in the rise of terrorism cases. “This is an unprecedented example of criminal negligence and insensitivity,” he said, adding that terrorism had consequently increased again during the past few years in Khyber Pakthunkhwa due to criminal negligence and incompetence of PTI rulers.
He said that 5,000 police vacancies had not been filled during the tenure of the PTI government, while the Safe City project in KP was still incomplete. “Neither the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) nor the police were given proper attention in terms of capacity building training and equipment,” he added.
Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif said that under the 2010 National Finance Commission (NFC) Award, all provinces had collectively agreed to support KP in view of its frontline role in the war against terrorism. “All provinces agreed to provide resources to KP for counter-terrorism,” he said, adding that the chief ministers had decided to allocate an additional one per cent from the federal and provincial shares of funds to the province. He said that since 2010, KP had received around Rs800 billion under the NFC Award for counter-terrorism.
The prime minister said it is highly regrettable that instead of ending, terrorism has emerged again with greater intensity in KP, adding that police in KP were also not provided adequate training, modern weapons and other necessary equipment that was highly deplorable. “This is an extremely painful story concerning Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,” he remarked.
The prime minister said the federal government had repeatedly assured PTI chief ministers that it would stand with them in the fight against terrorism. He said the government had worked day and night over the past two-and-a-half years to revive the national economy and put it back on track. “Through the tireless efforts of the political and military leadership, the national economy has now stabilized,” he said, adding that both friends and international observers acknowledged that Pakistan had successfully revived its economy, which was a great honour for the PMLN Govt.
The prime minister questioned whether the federal government could have continued watching KP burn amid worsening violence and terrorism in KP. “Could we continue to tolerate bloodshed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa?” he asked.
A high level political committee had been constituted and its members had worked hard during 48 hours of negotiations with the PTI committee before promulgation of Governor Rule and emergency. Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif said that he had consulted President Asif Ali Zardari twice over the extremely deteriorating law and order situation in KP, adding that difficult decisions were taken because of the difficult circumstances.
He said that an Advisory Council had now been established, comprising experts from different fields, adding that competent and honest people had been included in the council. “The people of KP have been waiting for 13 years for their problems to be resolved,” he said, adding that they wanted basic facilities to be available at their doorstep rather hallow slogans.
“It is imperative that this positive change produces positive results in KP,” the prime minister said, expressing the hope that with Allah’s help and the cooperation of all stakeholders, the overall situation, particularly security, would significantly improve in restive districts of Khyber Pakthunkhwa soon.
He claimed that a party which had sought votes in the name of eliminating corruption was itself deeply involved in corruption. “New stories of mega corruption in the PTI government have emerged in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.”
The Prime Minister claimed that corruption worth Rs100 billion had occurred in a clean drinking water project in KP, while corruption amounting to Rs37 billion had surfaced in the Kohistan project while contracts in the placer gold project were awarded to favourites.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif reiterated that the constitutional measures taken in KP were within the framework of the constitution and law and thanked all coalition parties for supporting the decision concerning the province and particularly expressed gratitude to President Asif Ali Zardari and PML-N Quaid Muhammad Nawaz Sharif for their supports.
He said that KP was the land of great Pashtun poets and thinkers, including Rahman Baba and Khushal Khan Khattak and during the time of independence, the people of this province decided by a large majority to join Pakistan.
The prime minister said that KP was currently facing terrorism and a lack of basic public facilities due to PTI Govt failure to deliver, while people were suffering from long deprivation. He assured the people of the province that the federal government, in collaboration with the military leadership, would work tirelessly to resolve their problems at their doorsteps.
“We will bring back an era of happiness, peace and development in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,” said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and expressed the resolve to turn into reality the dreams of prosperity of the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The meeting was given a detailed briefing on the imposition of emergency in 12 restive districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. During the special meeting, rich tribute was paid to the martyrs who had rendered supreme sacrifices for the establishment of peace in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Governor Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Faisal Karim Kundi, while addressing the meeting, said that maintaining law and order in the province was the top priority, adding that the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa wanted peace and development.
He said that the Army, Frontier Corps and police personnel had rendered precious sacrifices for maintaining peace and security in the province. The governor emphasized that federal cooperation was essential for ensuring lasting peace and stability in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. “If all institutions of Pakistan are on the same page, the process of peace and development cannot be stopped,” he said.
Faisal Karim Kundi said that eliminating terrorists, their facilitators and financial supporters from the province was the government’s top priority. He said that the objective was to formulate a workable strategy to address the problems confronting Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The governor expressed gratitude for the federal government’s cooperation in ensuring peace and stability in the province.
He said that the government wanted to create an environment where every citizen felt secure and considered himself part of the development process. “We have to make Khyber Pakhtunkhwa a model province of peace, stability, development and prosperity,” he said.
He stressed that cooperation between the federal and provincial governments was essential for ensuring public safety and prosperity.
Earlier, upon arrival, the prime minister was received by Governor KP, provincial advisors, Chief Secretary and IGP besides senior officials.
