PESHAWAR: Expressing concern over surge in cases of targeted killings and extortion and deteriorating law and order situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, particularly Malakand division, Jamaat-i-Islami chief Sirajul Haq on Thursday blamed the provincial government for the current situation.

Addressing a press conference at the party’s provincial secretariat here, he said the coalition government comprising 13 political parties and the security establishment were also not taking the matter seriously. He said this was the prime responsibility of the provincial and federal governments, and the security establishment to ensure safety of the masses.

He said if peace was not restored the JI would organise a sit-in protest in front of the Governor’s House and Chief Minister’s House in Peshawar. Without naming any group or individual, the JI leader said people in KP had been receiving calls on a daily bases, demanding extortion.

The JI chief said if the government believed that the Taliban were behind these telephone calls then that was the government’s duty to fulfil its responsibility.

He said that despite support from the elders, ulema and jirgas for the peace talks, the security situation was deteriorating, which was a big question mark on the performance of the institutions. He said the people of KP did not want to become displaced again, and the JI would fight for the rights of the citizens at every forum.

Published in Dawn, August 19th, 2022