PESHAWAR: Opposition Leader in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly Dr Ibadullah Khan has accused the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister and his ministers of misleading people by opposing the Tirah operation and insisted that the military offensive against militants was approved by the PTI’s government in the province.

“After consenting to the Tirah operation, the PTI government and leadership is singing a different tune,” Dr Ibadullah told reporters at the Peshawar Press Club on Friday.

He claimed that unlike the PML-N-led federal government, the provincial government released Rs4 billion for the Tirah operation.

The opposition leader said that if the PTI government suggested an alternative to the military offensive, the centre was ready to consider it.

Dr Ibadullah accuses provincial govt of ‘effectively facilitating, supporting’ terrorists

He also alleged that instead of opposing terrorism, the KP government was “effectively facilitating and supporting” terrorists.

Dr Ibadullah said that when the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in 2021, the then ISI chief, Lt-Gen Faiz Hameed, immediately went to Kabul, raising serious questions.

He said that after the Army Public School massacre in 2014, political leaders who had hurled abuses against opponents were brought to the table by the then prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, to discuss peace and all political parties were taken on board to implement the National Action Plan.

“Those who undermined that plan are today openly backing terrorists,” he said.

The opposition leader claimed that former prime minister Imran Khan had openly proposed ministerial slots and offices in Pakistan to the Taliban.

He alleged that corruption was rampant in the province, while public mandate was being openly mocked.

Dr Ibadullah criticised PTI politics, insisting it revolves around verbal abuses and baseless allegations.

He said the province had already received Rs10 trillion from the centre under the National Finance Commission Award.

The opposition leader said that PM Imran Khan’s government passed several federal budgets but didn’t grant due share in funds to the province, with the provincial government led by his own party opting to remain silent.

He added that funds received under the war on terror weren’t spent on the counter-terrorism department, police reforms and development projects.

Dr Ibadullah said the province didn’t have a proper CTD and a forensic laboratory, forcing it to rely on Punjab’s such facilities.

He wondered whether those questioning the Feb 8 polls had delivered the goods after securing a public mandate in the province.

The opposition leader claimed that not a single primary school had been built in the province during the last 13 years, while other provinces had made tangible socioeconomic progress.

“Not a single university, hospital or basic health unit has been established in these many years, leaving the province to lag behind,” he said.

Dr Ibadullah criticised the chief minister for touring other provinces instead of addressing the law and order issues in his own province and questioned if the public mandate was meant for “street politics.”

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz Khyber Pakhtunkhwa general secretary Murtaza Javed Abbasi, who was also present, said while wheat was rotting in warehouses of the province instead of being released for people’s consumption, the PTI government was using all its resources for securing PTI founder Imran Khan’s release from jail.

He alleged that development was nowhere to be seen in the province and that public resources were being used against the federal government.

Mr Abbasi accused the provincial leadership of supporting militants and refusing to participate in peace jirgas.

He said neither police reforms had been carried out nor had public issues been resolved.

The PML-N leader criticised the chief minister for “repeatedly blocking roads for hours” during visits to other cities and called it a violation of the law and an attempt to stage political shows to impress party leadership.

He said while soldiers, police and security personnel were sacrificing their lives, the provincial government backed terrorists.

Mr Abbasi alleged that the PTI government was directly involved in the wheat scandal and other corruption cases and that cheap wheat was purchased at higher rates by authorities to make money.

Published in Dawn, January 24th, 2026