• PTI MNAs question Centre’s ‘double standard’ over worsening law and order in both provinces
• Tariq Fazal Chaudhry says issues are ‘provincial subjects’, offers to arrange meeting with CM Bugti

ISLAMABAD: Lawmakers from the opposition PTI on Friday questioned why terrorism and lawlessness continued to afflict Balochistan, and called out what they termed the government’s ‘double standard’ when it came to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Speaking in the House, PTI MNA Adil Khan Bazai pointed out that terrorism was prevalent in Balochistan despite extraordinary security measures and additional powers granted to law enforcement agencies to control it.

“Mr Speaker, the question is where are we heading? We are not heading anywhere except on the path to self-destruction,” he added.

As he continued to describe the state of depression in the province, some of his remarks were expunged by Deputy Speaker Ghulam Mustafa, who was chairing the session.

Mr Bazai was apparently responding to statements made by Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, who had blamed the PTI government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for indirectly backing terrorists in the assembly a few days ago.

“If terrorism in KP is because of the provincial set-up there, God forbid… [then] what about Balochistan?” the PTI MNA asked the treasury benches.

“We [PTI] do not have the government in Balochistan. Will you blame the party heads of that government?” he added.

Mr Bazai continued that the people of Punjab were facing the impact of inflation and suffering from the high cost of living. He added that some people were also affected by street crime.

“But is all that because of Imran Khan or the PTI?” he questioned.

“The situation is more serious than you might think. My driver, guard and personnel assistant have been picked up without any charges or reason,” Mr Bazai alleged, and demanded an explanation from the relevant minister.

Speaking after him, PTI MNA Khushal Khan Kakar also criticised the Centre over rising terrorism in Balochistan.

He narrated an incident involving a scuffle between a local cleric and law enforcement personnel, asking: “Can you even count the number of check posts in and around Quetta?”

‘Provincial subjects’

However, responding to the issues raised by the PTI MNAs, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Tariq Fazal Chaudhry said the matters raised in the house were provincial subjects.

“I will arrange a meeting between you and Balochistan CM Sarfraz Bugti. If he is here [in Islamabad], I will also go along with you to sort out the local matters,” Mr Chaudhry added.

However, his statement led to cross-talk in the House, and PTI lawmakers pointed out that the Coast Guards and Frontier Corps were federal entities.

The minister said the FC had only been deployed in the province to help maintain law and order and denied that it had been given the powers of the Customs department.

“This is a false narrative, just like the incident involving the Coast Guards,” the minister said, adding: “The fact is that the terrorist group BLA [Balochistan Liberation Army] attacked the Coast Guards check post, leading to some casualties too.”

Before he could finish, some PTI members rose from their seats, calling the minister a liar.

Despite warnings from the deputy speaker to both sides to stop the cross-talk, the war of words between Mr Chaudhry and PTI MNAs, including Mr Kakar and Mr Bazai, started to heat up.

However, Leader of the Opposition Mehmood Khan Achakzai, along with PTI leaders Barrister Gohar Ali Khan and Asad Qaiser, asked Mr Chaudhry to sit down. They could be heard saying, “You sit down, they are stopping.”

Otherwise, Friday’s NA sitting was a lacklustre affair, with most treasury and opposition members remaining absent.

The session was delayed by more than an hour due to a lack of quorum.

It commenced at around noon and was adjourned within an hour until Monday evening.

Published in Dawn, May 16th, 2026