Asif blames PTI's TTP policy for worsening K-P security crisis

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Monday accused the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) of pursuing negotiations with the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), saying the party’s policy had contributed to the security crisis in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P).

In a detailed statement on X, Asif said the issue between the presidency and the K-P government was “not politics but terrorism”, while questioning the provincial government’s handling of police capacity, counterterrorism infrastructure and security funds.

He said the PTI had exercised political control or influence in K-P for around 13 years and criticised its leadership for advocating negotiations with the TTP.

“Imran Khan has always had a soft corner for TTP, and the party's thinking has been more aligned with the idea of negotiations with terrorists rather than the state's policy of eliminating terrorism,” Asif said.

He claimed that after becoming prime minister, Imran had said he knew how to end terrorism in K-P and called for talks with terrorists.

Asif also criticised the role of former Inter-Services Intelligence chief General Faiz Hameed, alleging that he had been used to advance the talks agenda.

Hameed was sentenced to 14 years in prison by a military court in December 2025 on charges including violation of state secrets and interfering in politics.

The defence minister blamed the PTI founder for using the state apparatus to pursue talks with the TTP and its allies.

“The full price of this policy has been paid by K-P and Pakistan, yet even today, the same party is talking about negotiations and engagement with TTP and Tehreek-e-Taliban Afghanistan (TTA).”

He reiterated the military’s stated policy towards terrorism, saying, “Terrorists will be eliminated.”

Asif said the state’s current policy was to eliminate terrorists rather than negotiate with them. He also questioned PTI criticism of military operations, asking whether the army was not fighting terrorism and who else was doing so.

“You say this is a war for dollars. Tell us, how many billions of dollars has America provided to Pakistan in the past few years for the war against terrorism and security?” he asked.

The minister also referred to reported drone attacks in Kohat and Peshawar, as well as attacks by the TTA on security posts. He questioned why the military should not use drones for defence when militants were using them.

K-P security crisis

Asif said official K-P data showed that the province had witnessed around 6,200 terrorism incidents and 1,200 deaths over the past two years, including 37 suicide attacks allegedly carried out by Afghan nationals. “Just this year, 14 suicide attacks have already occurred, the majority by Afghan nationals,” he added.

He questioned the deployment and capacity of the provincial police, saying the K-P police force had around 125,000 personnel, of whom about 13,000 were deployed on VIP security duties. He said around 17,000 posts remained vacant despite the province’s frontline role in counterterrorism.

Asif also criticised the functioning of the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) in the merged districts, claiming that it had only 17 bulletproof vehicles and around 3,300 personnel, most of whom were contract employees. “Only 25 are permanent, while the rest are contract employees,” the defence minister said.

He also questioned PTI leaders’ engagement with the security situation, asking whether they had personally visited military checkpoints, met families of soldiers martyred in the fight against terrorism, reviewed the functioning of courts and police stations in the merged districts or regularly attended apex committee meetings on security.

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He pointed to more than 3,000 pending prosecution cases in K-P and questioned why, despite the large number of cases, no terrorist had been executed or punished in the province.

According to Asif, the state’s policy in areas affected by militancy was based on a “Hold, Build and Transfer” model — first securing an area, then rebuilding infrastructure and institutions, and finally handing control to the civilian administration. He demanded that the PTI leadership explain its policy for ending terrorism.

Asif also alleged that the provincial police had sought Rs42 billion for the reconstruction and fortification of police checkpoints but had received only Rs1.2 billion, or 2.8%, from the K-P government. “Papers claim that Rs42 billion were spent, while in reality, this amount was embezzled,” he stated.

Federal funds

Addressing PTI claims that K-P had been denied adequate financial resources by the federal government, Asif said the province had received around Rs8.5 trillion in federal assistance between July 2010 and 2025. “There is no shortage of funds, but corruption and weak governance diminish their impact,” the minister said.

According to figures cited by Asif, the amount included Rs5.867 trillion transferred under the Seventh National Finance Commission (NFC) Award between 2010 and 2025.

Read More: K-P received Rs34.88tr in federal funds over past five years

He said Rs705 billion had been provided under the 1% share of the divisible pool allocated for the war against terrorism. For the merged districts, Rs704 billion had been disbursed since 2019, he added.

The figures also included around Rs482.78 billion in direct transfers, including royalties and gas development surcharge; Rs481.43 billion spent under the Benazir Income Support Programme in K-P between 2016 and 2025; and Rs117.166 billion in assistance for internally displaced persons.

He added that the province had received Rs46.44 billion under the latest NFC payment issued on December 17, 2025.

K-P government rejects criticism

Provincial Finance Adviser Muzammil Aslam rejected the impression that the K-P government was neglecting security or failing to allocate adequate resources to the police and other institutions.

“The current government of K-P has been allocating resources on a priority basis to police, law and order, judiciary, and temporarily displaced persons (TDPs) since February 2024,” he stated in a post shared by the K-P government on X.

Highlighting and comparing the performance of K-P with Punjab, he said, “Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police's crime record (robbery, kidnapping, mobile and vehicle theft) is better than Punjab.”

However, he acknowledged that terrorism was a major issue that impacted the province.

The fiscal adviser also asserted that K-P was fighting the war alongside the federal government and armed forces on terror for the country, adding that a “major burden of expenses” for containing the threat was also borne by the province. Furthermore, he claimed the government had stopped paying compensation for internally displaced persons since 2022.

He argued that K-P was itself bearing a major share of the financial burden of counterterrorism and said the province had been spending more than its available resources on police infrastructure in the merged districts.

Moving on to the spending on the police department, Aslam said the police budget had increased from Rs121b in 2024-25 to Rs173.8b in 2026-27 budget – registering an increase of 43.6%. He further outlined that the allocation for the purchase of weapons for the police had also increased from Rs3.3b to Rs14.5b.

“The total police budget in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is 191 billion rupees, the highest budget rate in all of Pakistan,” he claimed in the social media post.

Aslam said K-P was spending equally on police while comparing the budget to Sindh and Punjab.

He also disputed claims that the province was not spending sufficiently on the judiciary, saying K-P had allocated Rs6b for judicial development, compared with Rs5.2b allocated by Punjab, Rs2b in Sindh and Rs900 million in Balochistan.

He said the province had been waiting for a “fair share for the merged districts” under the NFC for eight years and had been meeting the related expenditures from its own resources.

The statement also contended that financial assistance for TDPs was a major point of disagreement between the federal and provincial governments. He said since 2022, the centre stopped IDP payments.

He said the federation owed K-P Rs54b in payments for temporarily displaced persons. He added that the province had received no payment against the outstanding amount and was meeting the full cost from its own resources.

The finance adviser concluded that the federal government’s financial obligations towards K-P should be considered before assessing provincial spending on security.

Earlier in the day, PTI-backed K-P Assembly Speaker Babar Saleem Swati also addressed the concerns of the centre regarding the prevailing security environment in the province. He said the legislature convened a “peace jirga” during which all political parties adopted a joint declaration to constitute a “Special Committee on Security”.

“The Committee has already received detailed briefings, in the presence of the parliamentary leaders of all political parties, from the Inspector General of Police, Counter Terrorism Department (CTD), Additional Chief Secretary Home, Home Department, Chief Secretary, and other relevant provincial institutions,” he revealed.

He also said the federal leaders were informed about the aforesaid parliamentary process.

“Letters were sent to the Hon'ble Prime Minister of Pakistan, the Chairman of the Senate, the Speaker of the National Assembly and the Federal Minister for Interior, informing them that the Assembly was moving towards comprehensive parliamentary recommendations on the security situation,” he detailed, quickly adding that only one important stakeholder's briefing remains—that of the Corps Commander Peshawar.

The speaker said he had spoken to the military leader, who assured him of his participation in the committee meeting, which is yet to take place.

“I am therefore going to summon another meeting of the Special Committee,” he emphasised, stating that he hopes to bring together all relevant authorities and institutions at one table to present their respective positions on this “critical” matter.

He said the meeting will discuss all heard, observed and emerged facts.

He urged the relevant institutions to present their “perspectives, facts and responsibilities” in the upcoming meeting. He stressed that it was a necessary move to help the committee formulate its recommendations.

“These recommendations will then be presented before the Assembly and, after approval, forwarded to both the Provincial and Federal Governments so that responsibilities, policy direction and practical measures are clearly defined.”

The assembly speaker said the people of K-P want peace and therefore all stakeholders must play their role to achieve a sustainable solution.

He also shied away from pinning blame.

“Our objective is not to assign blame. Our objective is to bring the facts to the table, clearly identify the responsibilities of the relevant institutions, and work collectively towards implementing the National Action Plan and finding a path to lasting peace,” the speaker stressed.

Swati said peace was a collective responsibility and the provincial assembly would chip in support for peace to prevail.