A FEW days ago, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) chief minister faced a pointed, but relevant question from a student at a function related to young leaders. The girl pointedly asked the chief minister to tell the audience about the achievements of his party rather than condemning the activities of other political parties.

After all, the party has been in power for the last 13 years in the province. The chief minister was clearly at a loss. After a moment’s thought, the chief minister replied that the party had given so much awareness to the people that a young student was asking such questions from the chief minister of the province.

Political smartness aside, the answer was vague and an attempt to evade the question. To hide his embarrassment, the chief minister told the student that since she seemed to be from some other political party, his answer would never satisfy her.

The reality is that if the ruling party in KP had tangible achievements on its record, the chief minister would have remembered them on his finger tips and could have replied accordingly.

The incident exposed the vast difference between what people want — real development — and what the party offers — emotional rhetoric, which has become the hallmark of the party in question.

Akbar Jan Marwat
Islamabad

Published in Dawn, March 10th, 2026