PESHAWAR: Both treasury and opposition members in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly on Tuesday expressed concerns over the continued operations against the militants in the province and declared such actions ‘aimless’, complaining about the failure to eliminate militants in the last two decades.

During a session chaired by Speaker Babar Saleem Swati here, the legislators said that the ultimate sufferers of military operations in southern districts were the innocent civilians who were being punished in the shape of displacement, collateral damage and property losses.

They complained about the “worsening law and order situation and the presence of militants in almost all parts of the province”.

Member of the opposition JUI-F from Bannu Adnan Khan began the debate on the law and order situation in the province and urged the provincial government to reveal “who is ruling Bannu as the district is in the grip of militants”.

Hold debate on law and order situation; say ultimate sufferers of operations are innocent civilians; JUI-F MPA claims Bannu in grip of militants

“All roads in Bannu region have been closed by law-enforcement agencies and the locals cannot even go to graveyards to bury the dead, to their utter frustration and misery,” he insisted.

The lawmaker wondered what the government had so far achieved in operations against the militants. He said that thousands of intelligence-based operations had been conducted since 2015 but even then, militants were blocking highways in the broad daylight.

Mr Adnan came down hard on the provincial government, asking it to “have mercy on the people” and step down if it can’t manage affairs effectively.

He said that the law and order situation in southern districts had reached an alarming level, with the lawmakers, too, being unable to visit their constituencies.

The member urged the law-enforcement agencies to besiege the hideouts of terrorists for action, insisting that the intelligence agencies know their locations.

He wondered why people were humiliated in the name of anti-militant operations and said that the people of the province no longer trusted security institutions.

MPA of the ruling PTI from Malakand Division Shakeel Khan said that people knew about those patronising terrorists.

He said that if the lawmakers from the treasury and opposition wanted to restore peace in the province, they, along with their leadership, should stage a sit-in outside the parliament, Supreme Court and General Headquarters.

“If the security agencies cannot restore peace, then they should leave our areas as the police and local youths are capable of eliminating terrorists. We will no more allow these dramas,” he said.

The legislator said that it was astonishing to note that militants were openly making TikTok videos on the roads of Lakki Marwat and Bannu.

He complained that authorities claimed to know about the presence of terrorists in Afghanistan but couldn’t find them in KP’s southern districts.

PTI MPA from Lower Dir district Hamayoon Khan said that terrorists had shown their presence in those districts for the three months without any fear.

He said that terrorists had killed three policemen and wounded around 10 in the Laram Top tourist resort, prompting people to stay away.

Mr Hamayoon claimed that the police were not well-equipped and that only a police inspector was leading the anti-terrorist operation in the area. He urged the government to look into the matter.

Participating in the debate, MPA Ajab Gul from Waziristan region complained that the lawmakers repeatedly raised the law and order issue in the house and at other forums, but to no avail.

Members of the ruling PTI Sajjad Barkwal, Sultane Room and Anwar Khan also participated in the debate.

The chair later adjourned the session until next Friday.

Published in Dawn, July 22nd, 2026