PESHAWAR: Speaker of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly Babar Saleem Swati on Monday said that he was going to convene another meeting of the house’s special committee on security again and desired that authorities and institutions sit at one table to discuss the law and order issue in the province.
“Whatever we heard, whatever we saw and whatever facts came before the committee, we will present our position on security issues [in the meeting], while the relevant institutions will present their position,” the speaker said in a tweet on X (formerly Twitter).
He said before the federal government blamed the KP government for the current law and order situation in the province, it was essential to look at the entire process that the KP Assembly had already initiated.
Mr Swati noted that the KP Assembly held a peace jirga in which all political parties issued a unanimous declaration and that, in light of that declaration, the house established a special committee on security, in whose meeting, the relevant provincial institutions, including the KP police chief, officials from the counter-terrorism department of the police, the additional chief secretary (home), the home department’s representative and the chief secretary, briefed parliamentary leaders of all political parties in the province.
Desires ‘authorities and institutions’ sit at one table
Mr Swati said that the federal leadership was also informed about the process and that letters were sent to the prime minister, the chairman of the Senate, the speaker of the National Assembly and the interior minister and that they were all informed that the house was moving toward comprehensive parliamentary recommendations.
“Now only one important stakeholder’s briefing is pending and that stakeholder is the corps commander of Peshawar. I had spoken to the corps commander, who assured me of participating in the committee’s meeting,” he said.
The speaker said that the house’s special committee on security would prepare its recommendations, followed by their presentation in the assembly for approval and their dispatch to the provincial and federal governments so that responsibility, policy and practical actions were clear.
“The people of KP want peace. The relevant parties must move toward a common solution with their respective roles,” he said, adding that they must bring out the facts, clarify the responsibilities of the relevant institutions and jointly find the path to peace by implementing the National Action Plan.
The KP Assembly had formed a 40-member special house committee on Sept 8, 2025, to examine the overall security situation in KP.
In a letter to the corps commander of Peshawar on Jan 8, the speaker said that in continuation of the consultative process, the committee desired to receive a detailed briefing from the headquarters of XI Corps, Peshawar, particularly in the context of the ongoing operations being conducted by the federal government and law- enforcement agencies in the merged tribal districts of KP.
“The committee acknowledges the importance of security measures. However, it considers that operations alone, without broader political, social and developmental initiatives, might not ensure sustainable peace and stability and could risk further unrest in the province,” he said.
Mr Swati also noted that a peace jirga held on Dec 12, 2025, had “unanimously adopted a comprehensive declaration outlining a roadmap for long-term peace and stability in the province” and that the declaration was also shared with the federal government.
“In view of the sensitivity of this matter, I am further directed to request that an in-camera briefing for the special committee kindly be arranged at the KP Assembly on a mutually convenient date and time,” he said.
Published in Dawn, October 6th, 2026
