SWAT: Speakers at a seminar here on Sunday claimed that terrorism was orchestrated in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to take away its natural resources.

The event was organised by the Pakhtunkhwa Students Organisation (PSO) in Qandeel area, with PSO president Ghairat Yousafzai in the chair.

The speakers included Pakhtunkhwa National Awami Party co-chairman Mukhtiar Yousafzai, scholar Dr Parvaiz Shaheen, senior journalist Fayaz Zafar and Dr Abdul Basir.

Mr Yousafzai alleged that terrorism was a “planned activity” created by the establishment to keep the people of KP preoccupied with efforts for survival so they would not demand control over their resources.

He claimed that Pakistan’s foreign and domestic policies were “anti-Pakhtun” and referred to acknowledgements by former generals Hamid Gul, Akhtar Abdur Rehman, Aslam Baig and Colonel Imam regarding the creation of the Taliban.

The speakers said that despite contributing a major share of the country’s energy and natural resources, KP remained among the poorest provinces. “KP produces 31,000 barrels of oil daily, 44 per cent of Pakistan’s production, along with 6,000 megawatts of electricity, while its own requirement is 3,000MW. Yet, the province receives just 1,700MW and that, too, at higher rates,” a participant pointed out.

They further highlighted that KP possessed an estimated 16 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, 4,500 billion tons of chromium, 14 trillion tons of precious gems, and nearly 30 per cent of the world’s lithium reserves. However, they lamented, the province neither received due royalties nor equitable benefits.

“The recently introduced draft Mines and Minerals Act as well as the role of the Special Investment Facilitation Council are unconstitutional moves to capture KP’s resources,” said one of the speakers.

The participants unanimously called for unity among all political parties in KP to resist what they described as exploitation by the federal government and the establishment. They stressed that terrorism must no longer be allowed in Swat or elsewhere in the province, and demanded that police be empowered to effectively combat militancy.

“This land needs unity and sacrifices. We must stand together to protect our resources from slipping out of our hands,” said a speaker.

At the end, young leader Ghairat Khan vowed the youth of Pakhtunkhwa would fight for their constitutional and legal rights.

He condemned the arrest of Ali Wazir, Malak Naseer and other Pakhtun leaders and demanded their immediate release.

Mr Khan also called for the withdrawal of the draft Mines and Minerals Act from the Balochistan Assembly and warned the KP Assembly against passing a similar legislation.

He also said that the youth of Swat would stand against an ill-planned hydropower project on the Swat River near Mankiyal and Bahrain.

Published in Dawn, August 19th, 2025