• PM says province received Rs590bn over past 14 years to fight terrorism
• Defence minister accuses PTI of having links with Taliban
• Asad Qaiser warns cross-border attacks can plunge region into war

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif rebuked the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government for its alleged failure to establish the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) despite receiving Rs590 billion over the past 14 years.

Responding to a point raised by former National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser, PM Shehbaz highlighted that under the National Finance Commission (NFC), an additional one per cent share was allocated to KP just to enhance its counterterrorism efforts.

The premier reminded the assembly that the last NFC Award was agreed upon in 2010 under prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani’s administration, when terrorism was at its peak and KP suffered the most, followed by Balochistan and other provinces.

He noted that KP had been on the front lines of the fight against terrorism, a sacrifice that would always be remembered. He emphasised that while KP received an additional 1pc share of funds, no other province, including Baloch­istan, received such support or objected to this allocation despite their own significant sacrifices.

He informed the House that KP had received Rs590bn since 2010 but could not yet establish the CTD for which the funds were mainly allocated.

“This also needs to be looked into as to why the CTD is still incomplete there despite getting such huge funds,” he remarked.

Addressing another objection from the opposition, PM Shehbaz mentioned that the federal government had forwarded a panel of three candidates for the role of KP’s chief secretary, as per tradition. However, the provincial government had not yet made a decision. He offered to revise the panel if needed and dismissed allegations of discrimination against the province.

Responding to another point raised by Mr Qaiser, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif accused the PTI of having connections with the Taliban. He said that two days ago he talked about the use of Afghan soil for terrorism in Pakistan and warned a day ago that Pakistan would carry out retaliatory attacks inside Afghanistan if the neighbour continued to export terrorism.

He stressed that terrorism was not only costing lives but also harming the economy and urged that the issue should not be politicised.

Rejecting criticism over his previous remarks, Mr Asif accused the critics of supporting terrorism. Amid opposition uproar, he claimed PTI had brought 6,000 TTP members into Pakistan.

‘Risk of regional war’

Earlier, Asad Qaiser had questioned PM Shehbaz about the last meeting of the Council of Common Interests (CCI) and emphasised the constitutional necessity of these meetings.

He highlighted that KP’s share in the NFC had increased from 14pc to 19pc and demanded this allocation be honoured. He also raised concerns about the delay in clearing the Rs111bn in net hydel profit arrears.

Mr Qaiser criticised the composition of a committee formed for the development of the erstwhile Fata, noting that it was dominated by PML-N members.

He pointed out that Pakistan’s ties with India were based on rivalry, and now the same behaviour was being adopted with Afghanistan.

“We cannot afford further escalation of conflict and disorder,” Mr Qaiser said, warning that cross-border attacks could plunge the region into war.

Published in Dawn, June 29th, 2024