ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister’s Adviser Rana Sanaullah has said the emergency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa could remain in place until 2029, arguing that extending it would be a reasonable price to pay for restoring law and order.
Speaking in a statement, Sanaullah said the emergency could continue for at least another year and potentially until 2029 if necessary to improve security in the province.
He said the federal government’s team had been assigned a responsibility and that fulfilling it would be a significant achievement.
Sanaullah also criticised the way Sohail Afridi became the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief minister, comparing the process to the elevation of former Punjab chief minister Usman Buzdar.
He said Afridi had been handed the party leadership and the provincial government in a similar manner. Sanaullah added that people of comparable experience to his own had been negotiating with the government while taking directions from Afridi.
Addressing Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, Sanaullah said the cleric was mistaken about the government’s position on negotiations.
He said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had made it clear to Fazlur Rehman that talks could begin only after the long march was called off.
Meanwhile, parliamentary approval for imposing an emergency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa remains pending. Sessions of the Senate and National Assembly are scheduled for 6pm on Monday to discuss the matter. The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) have also called a meeting of their parliamentary committee for the day.
Separately, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi said the province’s policy would come from the federal government, not Kabul.
Speaking at a press conference, Kundi pledged full support for all state institutions and identified strengthening the police and Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) as the government’s first priority.
He said the authorities would provide police personnel with modern facilities, bring KP police salaries in line with those in other provinces and increase compensation packages for families of police personnel killed in the line of duty.
