• Afridi refuses to back down on Oct 4 protest, reiterates call for new counterterrorism policy
• Federal ministers say it can ‘definitely happen if required’, consultations underway
• Governor advises PTI govt not to force Islamabad to impose emergency
• Muqam says govt will not negotiate on Imran’s release, meets Kundi
• Tallal blames KP govt for terrorism in the province
PESHAWAR: The rift between the Centre and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government continued to widen on Monday, as the former threatened to send the PTI government packing by imposing the governor’s rule if its leadership did not withdraw its plan to march on Islamabad on October 4.
The PTI changed its march date from Sept 27 to Oct 4 without taking its allies in the Tehreek-i-Tahafuz Ayin-i-Pakistan (TTAP) on board, which also distanced itself from the PTI decision in a statement on Monday.
The opposition alliance, however, decided to fully participate in the Oct 4 march, with KP Chief Minister Sohail Afridi refusing to budge from his stance despite warnings by the federal government.
Governor’s rule
PML-N leader and Kashmir Affairs Minister Amir Muqam said the consultations on this “constitutional and legal option” were underway.
Speaking at a press conference at the Peshawar Press Club, Mr Muqam said Governor Faisal Karim Kundi would lead the process if governor’s rule was imposed. He criticised the chief minister over the PTI’s proposed march, saying the chief minister should prepare for jail rather than the march. He alleged that billions of rupees had been collected from contractors and others in the name of the long march and party workers.
Mr Muqam claimed that the PTI had failed to mobilise a significant number of people for its Sept 27 call and had subsequently announced Oct 4 as the new date for the march. He alleged that the proposed march was being used for political and financial purposes.
Mr Muqam said the federal government would not negotiate over the release of Mr Khan, adding that his legal fate would be determined by the courts. He said, however, that the government could hold talks on issues of public and national interest. Mr Muqam said the federal government was considering all constitutional and legal options regarding the situation in KP.
Separately, KP Governor Faisal Karim Kundi held a meeting with Mr Muqam to discuss the deteriorating law and order situation in the province and political developments, state-run APP reported.
The participants exchanged views on the prevailing security situation, political uncertainty and other issues, and “deliberated on a number of proposals”.
Speaking to the media, Mr Kundi warned the PTI government not to “force the Centre” to impose governor’s rule and urged it to further postpone its long march set for Oct 4. Mr Kundi said that in his opinion, governor’s rule could be imposed if the federal government deemed it necessary “to save the province”.
“I advise the provincial government to postpone their long march due to the law and order situation, call all stakeholders and political parties to discuss peace in the province, and fight terrorism on the frontline.”
Federal Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar also did not rule out the governor’s rule if circumstances required such a decision. “If such conditions, where the Constitution demands governor’s rule to be implemented or an emergency declared, are there or they arise, it can and will definitely happen,” he told a private media outlet.
CM Afridi remains defiant
As the federal ministers railed against him over the security situation in KP, the CM brushed aside the warnings and reiterated the protest would take place. He said he would not retreat from his position and reiterated his call for a new counterterrorism policy with inputs from KP.
According to the CM, a new policy should be formulated after taking all stakeholders in KP, including the government, administration and police, into confidence.
He made these remarks while chairing a meeting on the law and order situation in the province. “Our proposed new policy can bring peace to KP within 100 days if implemented, but no one is willing to listen,” he said, adding that he had been calling for replacement of the failed policy that resulted in bloodshed for the past 22 years. The statement said the CM called on the federal government to introduce a policy shift to protect army personnel, police officers and civilians from bloodshed, adding that a change in policy was in the interest not only of KP but of the entire country.
The CM said that the state and federal government had repeatedly been warned about the presence of terrorists in the province but their repeated warnings had been dismissed by federal ministers as propaganda and lies. He said that for the fiscal year 2026-27, a massive increase of 103 per cent had been made in the police budget to strengthen the police force, claiming that these efforts were being undermined by an “ineffective closed-door policy and a failed strategy”.
No efforts to fight terror
In Islamabad, State Minister for Interior Tallal Chaudhry claimed that the PTI-led government had not made adequate efforts to combat terrorism in KP.
He noted that a political leadership could “provide three things in the fight against terrorism: leadership, resources and powers”. He contended that the provincial administration in KP — where the PTI has been in power since 2013 — “did not provide leadership to the security forces over the past 14 years”.
The state minister accused the PTI-led government of “creating space” for terrorists. “If Pakistan is burning in the fire of terrorism, it is because of KP’s incompetent leadership,” he alleged.
Tallal Chaudhry then noted that it was the provincial government’s responsibility to allocate funds for counterterrorism in the budget.
“[Then], why did you not provide the resources?” he asked, adding that the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) was still not functional in the entire province.
The state minister sought accountability from KP over the usage of even one per cent of the National Finance Commission (NFC) Award, which he said amounted to Rs800 billion. He also responded to PTI’s allegation that the party had not been included in discussions about the war on terrorism, saying that the party leadership did not show up to meetings when invited.
Ikram Junaidi in Islamabad also contributed to this report
Published in Dawn, September 29th, 2026
