‘Very little, if anything, done for KP’: PM Shehbaz rails against PTI’s governance in province

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday criticised PTI’s governance in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, questioning whether the funds available to the now dysfunctional provincial government had been used transparently for the welfare and betterment of the people of the province.

His remarks came during a meeting of the PML-N’s parliamentary party in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, held in Islamabad.

The Centre imposed governor’s rule and emergency in KP on Oct 11, citing the provincial government’s “deliberate disengagement” from the fight against terrorism. The move had drawn criticism from the opposition, as well as Fazl, who had made efforts to reduce tensions between the federal and the KP governments.

Taking aim at the PTI, Prime Minister Shehbaz said: “They have been in power in KP for 13 years. Over these 13 years, they have raised countless slogans, delivered fiery speeches, held long marches and sit-ins, and made numerous promises.”

Recalling PTI’s promises to build hundreds of dams, generate hundreds of megawatts of solar power, and establish hospitals, universities and schools across the province, the prime minister questioned whether any of these pledges had been fulfilled during the party’s 13 years in power.

“How many universities have been established there? How many new hospitals have been built? How much has the healthcare system improved? What facilities have actually been provided to the people? And how much corruption has taken place in the process?” he asked.

The prime minister also questioned whether public funds had been utilised transparently for the welfare and betterment of the people of KP.

“From Peshawar to Kohistan and Hazara, and across the entire southern region of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the majority of people would tell you that the PTI government has done very little, if anything, to address their basic needs,” he said.

The premier maintained that by 2017-18, terrorist activities in the province had been brought to an end to “a considerable extent”.

“Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was among the provinces that made the greatest sacrifices in the fight against terrorism,” he said.

The prime minister highlighted the heavy toll terrorism had taken on the country, saying around 80,000 people had lost their lives and Pakistan’s economy had suffered losses estimated at Rs15,000 billion.

He also praised former prime minister and PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif for his policies to combat terrorism following the 2014 Army Public School tragedy, in which more than 140 students and teachers were killed.

Turning to the PTI, the prime minister said the party had spent the past two and a half years engaged in long marches and protests.

“In 2014, Chinese President Xi Jinping was scheduled to visit Pakistan. We made repeated efforts to persuade the party to call off its sit-in so that President Xi’s visit could proceed as planned, but it refused. As a result, the visit was postponed,” he said recalling the 2014 D-Chowk protest.

He also criticised the PTI for allowing “brutal terrorists” from Afghanistan to settle in Swat.

“These were among the most painful and heartrending incidents that allowed terrorism to regain momentum,” he said.

The premier further said that thousands of civilians and security personnel had been martyred during the past two and a half years, adding that the PTI had been offered an opportunity to join hands with the federal government to combat terrorism, as it had done in the past.

He also said that hundreds of billions had been allocated to the KP government under a special National Finance Commission (NFC) arrangement to combat terrorism.

“How many Safe City projects have been initiated in KP? How much money has been spent on strengthening the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD)?” he asked.

The prime minister elaborated that even if the PTI-led KP government had spent Rs80 billion on strengthening the police and other law enforcement agencies, they would have been better equipped to tackle security challenges. “But unfortunately, that did not happen,” he added.

He said the federal government had managed to put the national economy back on its feet, but acknowledged that the recovery process would be a long journey.

The prime minister recalled that the government had formed a committee comprising members of the PPP and PML-N to hold talks with the PTI.

“Both sides held negotiations for 48 hours. I was told that the draft had been finalised and would be signed within minutes, following approval from then-chief minister Sohail Afridi. However, the approval never came, and we are still waiting,” he said.

Prime Minister Shehbaz said the federal government was now compelled to consider imposing an emergency and governor’s rule, as it had no other option.

He emphasised that the Centre’s decision had been “timely”, warning that the consequences would have been severe had it been delayed.

The prime minister urged PML-N lawmakers from KP to prioritise the basic needs of the people in their constituencies, while putting long-term projects on hold for the time being.

“Focus on short-term welfare projects so that you can help turn people’s fortunes around within the next six months to a year,” he stressed.

Less than a week after an emergency and governor’s rule was imposed in the province, a joint sitting of parliament approved the federal government’s move amid a strong protest from the opposition.

The events of Oct 11 followed weeks of political tensions between the Centre and the PTI — as well as negotiations to bridge their differences — after the latter announced a long march to Islamabad to demand the release of its jailed founder, Imran Khan.

Federal ministers alleged that the PTI-led government in KP had a “nexus” with terrorist groups and asserted that the province’s security situation necessitated the imposition of emergency there.

The Centre and the PTI have been at odds over various issues, particularly on the counterterrorism policy, which was one of the main reasons behind the breakdown of their October 3 talks.

The PTI said it was being left out of security decisions concerning KP, which the Centre denied. It also called for reviewing the counterterrorism policy, while the latter criticised the KP government’s efforts to combat terrorism in the province and objected to its stance on dialogue with the Afghan Taliban.

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