The responsibility for bad governance in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) cannot be solely attributed to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) or any single political party. Instead, it is a collective failure of all political parties, civil administration, the military establishment, the federal government, and even the people.
KP has been used as a testing ground by every government, resulting in severe mismanagement and poor governance. Despite governing the province for over a decade, PTI has failed to resolve governance issues, and the situation continues to deteriorate. Statements from PTI ministers themselves highlight the worsening conditions.
However, the federal government’s consistent neglect is also to blame for KP’s current state, where terrorism, insecurity, administrative inefficiency, and numerous unresolved challenges persist.
The military establishment has also contributed to KP’s crisis. A lack of trust between civil and military administrations has further destabilized the province.
According to the Chief Engineer of the C&W Department, KP has a 2,388-kilometer road network, but 1,200 kilometers require repairs, costing billions of rupees. Even after a decade of governance, the state of KP’s infrastructure paints a grim picture of administrative failure.
In the education sector, over 4,000 schools still lack basic amenities like electricity, boundary walls, bathrooms, and roofs. Official records show that 4.8 million children are out of school, with no viable plan in place to address this alarming issue.
The state of healthcare is equally dire. Outside of Peshawar’s major hospitals, districts lack adequate medical facilities. Even minor surgeries, such as appendectomies, require patients to be referred to Peshawar. Shockingly, the health department has no data on doctors on extraordinary leave abroad, and over 3,000 doctor positions remain vacant with no recruitment plans.
Provincial Labor Minister Fazal Shakoor has admitted that the government lacks data on brick kiln workers in the province. Meanwhile, the police force, despite being on the frontline of the fight against terrorism, struggles with inadequate resources. Many police stations in Peshawar operate out of rented buildings, while officers in tribal districts often use personal weapons due to a lack of government-provided firearms.
Former IG Police and Home Secretary Akhtar Ali Shah states that good governance requires transparency, accountability, and the rule of law—elements largely absent in KP. The law-and-order situation is dire, with terrorists acting with impunity, street crimes on the rise, and rampant drug trafficking. Instances like unresolved land disputes in Kafur Dheri and violent clashes in Kurram demonstrate the government’s inaction.
KP’s universities face severe financial crises, and the province is burdened with massive debts. In Peshawar, even light rainfall floods major roads, exposing poor urban planning. The government’s inability to tackle corruption is evident, as committees are formed to address this issue, highlighting its prevalence at all levels.
Senior journalist Lehaz Ali says that while terrorism adds to KP’s challenges, it cannot be used to justify bad governance. He notes that administrative failures in KP date back to the 1990s, with the province often treated as a testing ground for experiments, including those related to the Afghan jihad.
Assistant Professor Wajid Khattak of FATA University views bad governance as both a political and state-level issue. He warns that if collective efforts are not made to enforce merit, uphold the rule of law, and prioritize justice, the current state of mismanagement will escalate into a disaster for the entire province.
Collaboration between political and military leadership, along with a genuine focus on serving the province, is essential to pulling KP out of its current crisis. Without such efforts, the region risks being swept away by a wave of worsening governance failures.
