CHARSADDA: Awami National Party provincial president Mian Iftikhar Hussain has said that the provincial government appears to be practically disconnected from the worsening law-and-order situation and terrorism in the province.

Talking to the Mohammadzai Union of Journalists in Charsadda on Saturday, he questioned how it was possible that a military operation was to be conducted in the province without the consent of the chief minister. He said that the people displaced from Tirah were facing severe hardships because of extreme weather conditions.

He said that if the chief minister was so powerless, he should demonstrate moral courage and resign from his position. He added that the district administration operated under the provincial government; therefore, if the provincial government had not consented to the operation, why the district administration was forcibly displacing people from their homes in Tirah.

He said that ANP during its tenure took ‘ownership’ of both negotiations and military operations. “We offered sacrifices in the war against terrorism, but we never surrendered before terrorists,” he said.

Iftikhar complains Tirah’s displaced people facing hardships due to harsh weather

He made it clear that terrorism could not be eliminated unless fundamental changes were made in the state’s internal and foreign policies. The distinction between ‘good’ and ‘bad’ Taliban must be abolished under all circumstances, because terrorists cannot be both good and bad at the same time, he added.

He alleged that former ISI chief Gen retired Faiz Hameed and Imran Khan resettled 40,000 terrorists in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa despite the fact that the National Action Plan clearly outlined punishments for terrorists and their facilitators. He demanded exemplary punishment for Gen Faiz and ‘his group’ for facilitating terrorism.

Mr Hussain said that due to the incompetence of the rulers, opportunities for youth in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had become extremely limited. “Terrorism has devastated trade and business in the province; the ban on student unions has prevented the emergence of new youth leadership, and mismanagement has reached such levels that universities lack even the resources to pay salaries to their teachers,” he said.

Speaking about Bacha Khan’s philosophy of non-violence, he said that his ideas and ideology formed the foundation of their movement and struggle. “Bacha Khan introduced the Pashtun nation to the philosophy of non-violence in the face of oppression, established independent schools across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to awaken political consciousness, resisted British colonial tyranny, and endured immense suffering for the rights of the Pakhtuns,” Mr Hussain said.

He said that the dismissal of the Khudai Khidmatgar government after the creation of Pakistan was the first attack on democracy. However, despite all conspiracies, followers of the Khudai Khidmatgar movement remain active to this day, he added.

He said that under the leadership of Khan Abdul Wali Khan, the National Awami Party waged a historic struggle for democracy against dictatorship. “Wali Khan’s role as leader of the opposition is unparalleled in Pakistan’s political history. Today, everyone acknowledges that had the ideas of these great leaders been implemented, Pakistan would not be facing its current crises.”

Published in Dawn, January 25th, 2026