Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi on Sunday reiterated a call for improved coordination between the provincial and federal governments on security matters, claiming the counterterrorism policy should reflect ground realities.
Speaking with media during a visit to Dera Ismail Khan, where he visited the wounded from a bombing targeting a police and customs check-post that left 12 people dead, he said his government had warned about the deteriorating security situation of the province, lamenting people, police personnel and soldiers were bearing the brunt of violence.
Afridi claimed his government had allocated an additional Rs. 35 billion for KP police in the last fiscal year to maintain peace and security, adding the province also made payments to federal agencies for the provision of modern weapons, equipment and armored personnel carriers. He alleged these had yet to be delivered and demanded they be provided without any further delay.
“We are picking up coffins on a daily basis,” he regretted, seeking greater cooperation between the federal and provincial governments on security matters. “Peace cannot be established without taking the people of KP into confidence,” he said.
Noting the past 22 years had seen almost an equal number of military operations and 14,000 intelligence-based operations, Afridi said terrorism had only increase rather than decreasing. “This demonstrates the need for a policy shift based on ground realities,” he stressed.
Declaring that anyone who takes up arms against Pakistan is a terrorist, the chief minister voiced concern over the security situation in KP and Balochistan, announcing a martyrs’ package for families of those killed in acts of terrorism.
As per routine, Afridi reiterated allegations of “elements” within the federal government seeking to polarize the country, daring the imposition of governor’s rule in KP beyond reoccurring threats.
In the lead-up to, and the aftermath of, the PTI’s postponed long march to Islamabad, speculation has mounted over the center considering imposing governor’s rule in KP to tackle the deteriorating security situation. Other options being fielded by senior journalists are the imposition of a national emergency, the ouster of Afridi through a vote of no-confidence, or even the dissolution of the assembly.