Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi on Wednesday sought a “policy shift” and urged the inclusion of the provincial government in counter-terror policy-making.

Federal authorities have criticised the PTI-led KP government for failing to ensure security in the province, with KP Governor Faisal Karim Kundi saying that the party was in disarray and unable to achieve any of its policy goals.

In a speech at Peshawar University’s convocation ceremony, the CM said that the people of KP had warned about the resurgence of terrorism in the province, but were brushed off as propaganda.

“We would issue warnings that they (terrorists) were in the mountains and they were coming, that they had reached our markets and homes,” CM Afridi said. “We were told that we are spreading propaganda.”

He highlighted that if there was going to be a military operation, then the people of KP needed to be taken into confidence and made part of the policy process.

“There needs to be a policy shift, but not behind closed doors,” he explained. “It [policy] needs to be formed after consulting KP’s government, people and stakeholders.“

“A clear policy formed in this manner will play a role in lasting and enduring peace; a decision made behind closed doors will leave our people suffering, as they have for the past 17 years.”

The CM noted that the KP government and the government had “different intentions”, adding, “If they wanted to eradicate terrorism, then they would have sat with us and formed a policy.

“We came out of our homes, so they committed that they would give Rs400,000 to people whose homes have been lost to terrorism,” he said. “Imagine hearing that after sacrificing so much. They still have not received that money.”

Highlighting the impact of military operations, CM Afridi noted that families would lose breadwinners in collateral damage or terrorist attacks, causing them to suffer economically.

According to the Annual Security Report 2025 from the Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS), comparative data for 2024 and 2025 reveal a sharp escalation in terrorism and counter-terrorism-linked violence nationwide, with fatalities rising from 2,555 in 2024 to 3,417 in 2025, marking an increase of 862 deaths, or a roughly 34 per cent year-on-year surge in violence.

Per the report, “the most significant surge in violence was recorded in KP, where the fatalities rose from 1,620 in 2024 to 2,331 in 2025, an absolute increase of 711 deaths, accounting for over 82pc of the net national rise and marking almost a 44pc year-on-year surge in violence in the province.”

Meanwhile, on January 2, KP Inspector General of Police Zulfiqar Hameed said police thwarted hundreds of terrorism-related incidents, particularly in southern and merged tribal districts, while police personnel risked their lives but stood firm against the enemy.

Last year, the police neutralised 459 terrorists in several engagements and arrested over 1,300 militants, including 29 with head money, in 3,277 intelligence-based operations across the province.

The police said a large quantity of hand grenades, explosives, pistols, various weapons and ammunition was recovered.