Govt, opp trade blame over K-P security crisis

House witnesses chaos as treasury blames Centre

PESHAWAR:

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly descended into acrimony on Tuesday as a debate on the province's deteriorating law and order situation triggered a fierce exchange between government and opposition lawmakers, each side accusing the other.

The treasury members blamed the federal government for the worsening security climate, whereas the opposition blamed the PTI-led provincial government itself.

The clash ultimately forced adjournment of the sitting until December 1 after the opposition pointed out a lack of quorum during the law minister's speech.

The session opened with government members and opposition benches locking horns over who bears responsibility for the abysmal security environment.

Treasury members blamed federal policies for a resurgence of terrorism and urged Centre to pursue negotiations as a solution, while opposition legislators maintained that peace was squarely the responsibility of the provincial government.

They argued that if the administration cannot restore order, it should step down.

The disruption peaked during the speech of provincial law minister Aftab Alam, when opposition lawmaker Jalal Khan pointed out quorum. After bells rang for two minutes and attendance remained insufficient, the chair adjourned proceedings until December 1.

Human cost

Earlier, government MPAs Dr Amjad, Nek Muhammad Khan, Ajab Gul, Riaz Khan and Fazal Hakim condemned the recent bombing at FC Headquarters in Peshawar, saying they raise security issues daily not to target any institution but to identify failures.

They questioned how militants continue to cross the border, saying that security briefings had indicated a presence of 3,800 to 4,100 terrorists.

They further asked which state organs were responsible for preventing infiltration, and accused security agencies of prioritising "humiliating PTI members through fabricated cases" rather than addressing terrorism.

Lamenting the human cost of militancy, the lawmakers said that 57,000 women had been widowed, 250,000 children orphaned and 10,000 people disabled in terrorism-related violence.

The lawmakers asked why the region continued to be targeted, complaining that whenever they raised concerns, "notices are issued and intimidation follows".

They argued that if repeated military operations had not produced durable results, the government should pursue talks, otherwise "this province will continue to burn in the fire of terrorism". They recalled that before 2013, the province was ruled by others and claimed that such matters had rarely been acknowledged in the Assembly over the past 66 years.

Government members also alleged that PML-N's MPA faced narcotics cases in Islamabad and Hayatabad police stations, slamming the federal government for issuing liquor licences, and also questioned why narcotics production in tribal areas was being portrayed as a new development.

They argued that until 2018, the tribal belt remained under federal jurisdiction.

Responding, opposition members Sardar Shah Jehan, Makhdoom Zada Aftab Haider and Jalal Khan asserted that the NA-18 Haripur by-election had been "clean and transparent", saying the public had given its verdict.

They asked who benefited from Form-47, claiming that the provincial government itself had been formed on the basis of Form-47, and defending the security forces who had "secured the borders with great sacrifice".