PESHAWAR – The much-anticipated Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly session, called to discuss the province’s security crisis and suggest measures for peace, quickly turned into a stage for political bickering on Tuesday. Instead of unity, the gathering was marked by blame games and heated exchanges, with little real progress.
The sitting was chaired by Muhammad Idrees after a delay of nearly three hours. Attendance was poor on both treasury and opposition benches. Several ministers were absent, and repeated quorum breaks further disrupted the proceedings.
Opening the debate after the recitation of the Holy Quran, PML-N lawmaker Farukh Khan warned that terrorism was again gaining ground in the province. He said the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly should lead efforts to restore peace. “This land was once the cradle of the Gandhara civilisation,” he lamented. “But later, it was drenched in blood.”
He urged both sides to put aside political differences. Recalling Nawaz Sharif’s term as prime minister, he said it had brought stability to the country. “We need the same spirit today,” he added. He stressed that after the 18th Amendment, law and order is a provincial responsibility. “The work must start here, with positive proposals from this House,” he said.
Farukh Khan also reminded the members that the province can still seek help from the federal government. “We cannot endure more lost lives and broken homes,” he said. “Speeches alone will not do. The government must take the lead, and we will stand with it.”
Ali Shah, another member, expressed grief over the worsening conditions. He said the people of Bajaur were leaving their homes. “My heart bleeds for them,” he said. “In Balochistan and K-P, the situation is deteriorating. Punjab faces neither operations nor drone strikes, but our borders remain unsafe.”
Special Assistant to the Chief Minister, Sohail Afridi, took the floor and noted that no opposition member had spoken against military operations in the merged districts. He said PTI’s leadership, alongside the provincial government, had opposed the move.
“To this day, leaders of the opposition have not taken a clear stand,” Afridi said. “The blood of the Pashtuns is being traded.” He criticised the Awami National Party, saying that a party led by Aimal Wali had no right to lecture others on political maturity.
Afridi argued that political speeches would achieve nothing. He said no opposition member had condemned the operation. He accused opposition parties of being part of the “London Plan” during the regime change episode. “These people want to disturb the province’s peace once again,” he alleged.
He claimed that a self-made security crisis had been engineered in the province. He reaffirmed that PTI would support military action in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa under all circumstances.