ISLAMABAD, 31 October, 2026 (Kamran Raja): Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has said that the imposition of governor’s rule and emergency measures in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was necessary to prevent further damage to the province, alleging that terrorists had been brought back from Afghanistan and resettled there during 2019 and 2020. Addressing a gathering of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) parliamentary party members and office-bearers from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the prime minister said the decision was taken under difficult circumstances to protect the people, the province and the country’s economic and social stability. Describing Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as an integral part of Pakistan, he praised its people for their courage, dignity and sacrifices in the fight against terrorism. He said the PML-N had played an important role in strengthening democratic traditions in the province, recalling that former prime minister Nawaz Sharif had allowed the majority party to form the provincial government following the 2013 general elections. Criticising the performance of the party that had governed the province for the past 13 years, Shehbaz Sharif questioned how many universities and hospitals had been established during this period, alleging that political slogans and divisions had been prioritised over public service. He said people from Peshawar to Kohistan, Hazara and the southern districts continued to face unresolved problems.

Highlighting the sacrifices in the war against terrorism, he said the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, police personnel, armed forces and political leadership had suffered enormous human and economic losses. He also recalled the Army Public School tragedy in Peshawar, describing the killing of innocent children as one of the darkest incidents in Pakistan’s history. The prime minister said the country had previously overcome terrorism through collective efforts under Nawaz Sharif’s leadership, but alleged that the return and resettlement of terrorists from Afghanistan in 2019 and 2020 had contributed to the resurgence of terrorism. He added that the federal government had called for joint efforts to address the renewed security threat, but its proposals had not received the desired response. Questioning the utilisation of financial resources allocated to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa under the National Finance Commission (NFC) Award, Shehbaz Sharif said an additional one per cent share had been allocated to the province under the 2010 NFC Award, through which it had received Rs800 billion. He questioned how many Safe City projects had been established using these funds and whether the provincial Counter Terrorism Department had been adequately strengthened. He further pointed out that around 5,000 police vacancies remained unfilled, stressing that available resources should have been utilised to recruit personnel, equip police with modern weapons and provide them with better training.