PM Shehbaz Addresses KP Security Meeting in Peshawar Under Emergency
Shehbaz says emergency was imposed under extreme compulsion and blames years of militancy and past policy for wounding the province
By AXY Pakistan Desk ·
Key points
- Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif addressed a provincial apex committee meeting in Peshawar reviewing the security situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
- The visit was his first to the province since governor’s rule and an emergency were imposed on October 11.
- The Centre cited the PTI-led provincial government’s “deliberate disengagement” from the fight against terrorism as the reason for its move.
- Governor Faisal Karim Kundi said counterterrorism policies would come from Islamabad, not Kabul.
- The PTI said it was left out of security decisions, a claim the Centre denied.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif addressed a meeting of the provincial apex committee in Peshawar, reviewing the overall security situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the northwestern province known as KP. It was his first visit to the province since the federal government imposed governor’s rule and declared an emergency there on October 11. Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir and KP Governor Faisal Karim Kundi attended the meeting, along with federal ministers and newly appointed provincial advisers.
State media had reported before the session that it would review the security situation and the measures being taken to combat terrorism. The prime minister arrived in Peshawar earlier in the day. His speech was less about the immediate security plan than about how the province got to this point, and about who he believes is to blame.
For the people of KP, the change is concrete. An elected provincial government no longer runs day-to-day affairs. The governor, appointed from the centre, is now in charge of running the province, and the army has been authorised to deploy troops and assets to support civil authorities. Those are the two changes most residents will feel first, in how decisions are made and in who is seen on the streets.
Why the Centre Took Control of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
The federal government justified its move by pointing to what it called the provincial government’s “deliberate disengagement” from the fight against terrorism. The provincial government is led by the PTI, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, the party founded by former prime minister Imran Khan. Federal ministers have also alleged that the PTI-led provincial government had a “nexus” with terrorist groups, and said the province’s security situation made emergency measures necessary.
The decisions were endorsed by Parliament last week, but only amid protests by the opposition. That endorsement matters because it moved the arrangement from an executive decision into one the legislature has backed, even though the opposition objected.
The timing also matters. The Centre’s move followed a mobilisation drive and protest march by the PTI and the opposition at the federal level, demanding the release of Imran Khan, who is in jail. Intense negotiations between the two sides a week before governor’s rule was imposed failed to yield any results. Counterterrorism policy was one of the main reasons the talks broke down.
The Dispute Over Counterterrorism Policy
The disagreement at the heart of this crisis is about who sets the rules for fighting militants in the province, and how. The PTI said it was being left out of security decisions concerning KP. The Centre denied that. The PTI also called for a review of the counterterrorism policy.
The federal side has taken a different line. It criticised the KP government’s efforts to combat terrorism in the province and objected to its stance on dialogue with the Afghan Taliban. That point is central. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa borders Afghanistan, and the Taliban have governed Kabul since 2021. Whether and how a provincial government should talk to the Taliban-led authorities in Kabul is therefore a security question as well as a political one.
For readers outside Pakistan, the core of the argument is simple. One side says security policy must be decided at the centre and must not be softened by provincial talks. The other says the province has to be part of the decisions because it bears the consequences. Neither side has yet shown a way to bridge that gap.
What Shehbaz Said About the Cost of Militancy
Speaking at the meeting, Shehbaz Sharif said the emergency and governor’s rule had to be imposed “under extreme compulsion”. He described the province as “very beautiful” and said he hoped the government would “work hard day and night and speedily make it progress towards development and prosperity”.
He also framed KP as a frontline. “This is the province that is the first extremely strong wall of the homeland,” he said. In the same speech, he said the province was “shattered with wounds due to the circumstances created in the past several years”. He pointed to the poor law and order situation of the past six years, and said security forces and law enforcement agencies had made sacrifices to establish peace in KP.
The prime minister put a number on the cost. He said “80,000 people were martyred” and that the economy suffered a loss of several hundred billion dollars. He said peace was completely restored in the country only in 2018. Those figures are his own. They form the core of his argument that the current crisis undid years of hard-won gains.
He also regretted that “terrorists were summoned back here” after peace had been established, “washing down all sacrifices down the drain”. He ended that point with a stark judgment: “I believe there can be no greater injustice to this country than this.” Taken together, the speech placed the blame on the past policy decisions that brought militants back, rather than on the security forces that fought them.
Governor Kundi’s First Moves Under Governor’s Rule
The new arrangement is already taking shape. Governor Kundi chaired a meeting of the provincial apex committee a day after governor’s rule was imposed, together with Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi. In that meeting, the governor, who is now in charge of running the province, assured Naqvi that he would enforce all federal government policies. He also said he would work together with the security forces for the peace and prosperity of the province.
Kundi said that under the new set-up, tackling terrorism would be the top priority. Later, at a press conference, he called for greater coordination between the Centre and the province. He said counterterrorism policies would “come from Islamabad [..] not Kabul”. The remark was a pointed jibe at the PTI-led provincial government, which federal ministers have accused of maintaining a “nexus” with terrorist groups. It also shows that the governor sees the province’s security policy as something to be decided from the federal capital.
For residents, that shift in tone matters. A governor who runs the province directly, with the army in support, changes who signs off on security decisions. It also changes who answers for those decisions if they go wrong.
How Army Support Could Change Daily Life in KP
The Centre has authorised the deployment of Pakistan Army troops and assets in aid of civil power in KP. In plain terms, civil power means the police and civil administration, and the army is there to support them rather than replace them. The source does not say where the troops will be deployed, so the exact effect on each district is not yet clear.
Still, the change is likely to be visible. Troops working alongside police in towns and districts would be the sign most people notice first. That could mean more checkpoints, more searches and more restrictions on movement in some areas. Those steps are the usual signs of a security operation, and they tend to affect shopkeepers, commuters, students and families who have no part in the political dispute.
The apex committee, which brings together civilian and military leaders, is where these operations are reviewed. Because the army chief attended the meeting, the forum combined military and civilian leaders in one room. How that forum handles its role will show whether the federal promise of coordination works in practice.
Whether the Talks Can Restart
The next test is whether the new arrangement delivers the security gains the prime minister described, or whether it deepens the political standoff. The federal government presents the move as a response to militancy. The PTI presents it as a way of pushing the party out of security decisions. Both positions leave little space for compromise on who decides security policy in the province.
The PTI’s demand for a review of counterterrorism policy also remains open. If the party keeps pressing the issue through protests and in Parliament, the province could face more political friction at the same time it confronts militant violence. This could make it harder to reach any settlement, and harder for the public to judge whether the emergency is working.
The Centre’s position on talks with the Afghan Taliban is another pressure point. Kundi’s remark that policy would come from Islamabad and not Kabul makes clear that the federal government does not want provincial authorities to set their own line on Afghanistan. Whether that line holds in practice, and whether the province’s own leaders accept it, will be one of the clearest signs of how this dispute develops.
For now, the key facts are clear. The meeting reviewed the security situation in KP. The prime minister defended the emergency as necessary, and the governor has set counterterrorism as the top priority. Whether the emergency ends with a restored balance between the centre and the province, or continues with more friction, will depend on what the new arrangement does on the ground in the coming weeks and months.
Questions and answers
Why did the federal government impose governor’s rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa?
The Centre cited the PTI-led provincial government’s “deliberate disengagement” from the fight against terrorism. Federal ministers also alleged that the provincial government had a “nexus” with terrorist groups.
When was the emergency declared in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa?
The emergency and governor’s rule were imposed on October 11. Parliament endorsed the decisions the following week, amid protests by the opposition.
Who is now running Khyber Pakhtunkhwa?
Governor Faisal Karim Kundi is now in charge of running the province. He has said tackling terrorism is the top priority and that counterterrorism policies would come from Islamabad.
What did Shehbaz Sharif say about the security situation?
He said the emergency had to be imposed under extreme compulsion and that the province had been shattered by years of poor security. He also said 80,000 people were martyred.
Topics: Shehbaz Sharif, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Peshawar, Governor's rule, Faisal Karim Kundi, Asim Munir, PTI, Counterterrorism
Sources: Dawn