PM Shehbaz defends governor's rule and emergency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has defended the imposition of governor's rule and an emergency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He said the decision was needed under extraordinary circumstances and helped prevent further damage to the province.

He was speaking at a meeting of PML-N parliamentary members and office-bearers. Minute Mirror described it as a parliamentary party meeting for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, while Daily Times said it was held in Islamabad.

Shehbaz said the federal government made several attempts at negotiation before acting. According to him, negotiation committees of PPP and PML-N representatives held talks for 48 hours. He said a draft agreed in those talks awaited approval that never came, leaving no option but to decide. He added that delay could have caused further losses and worsened the situation.

The prime minister criticised the 13-year record of the party that governed the province. He asked how many universities and hospitals were built in that period and said Peshawar, Kohistan, Hazara and the southern districts still face serious problems. Daily Times reported he said the province received over Rs800 billion under the special one percent NFC Award allocation since 2010, and he questioned why security infrastructure such as Safe City projects and CTD capacity remained underfunded.

He recalled that Nawaz Sharif allowed the majority party to form the provincial government after the 2013 general elections, and said PML-N had played an important role in promoting democratic traditions in the province.

On security, Shehbaz alleged that terrorists were brought back from Afghanistan and resettled in Pakistan during 2019 and 2020. He said the resurgence of terrorism had badly damaged the country, and that the government invited political forces to join against terrorism but did not get the desired response. He stressed collective efforts against security challenges.

On the economy, he said political and military leadership worked to stabilise it. He said the Gulf war and international developments sharply raised energy prices, and the government introduced a fuel subsidy scheme. According to him, around 13 million people benefited, with Rs75 billion allocated.

Daily Times reported that emergency administrative measures will stay in place while legislative mechanisms are reviewed, and that federal auditors plan to review resource allocations. Shehbaz said PML-N would continue efforts for development and public welfare in the province.