PESHAWAR: Federal Minister for Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan Amir Muqam has accused the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government of using the official resources on political rallies and failing to curb the growing terror attacks in the province.

Addressing a press conference here on Monday, Mr Muqam, who is also provincial president of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, said the KP people and personnel of law enforcement agencies had rendered meritorious sacrifices in the war against terrorism but the provincial government was least bothered to take effective measures for maintenance of the law and order situation.

Mr Muqam said the situation in southern districts had worsened to the extent that people could not leave their homes after sunset.

He condemned the explosion targeting a police van near Malam Jabba, Swat, and asked the government to focus on improving the law-and-order situation in the province. He said terror attacks were growing in merged districts and Malakand division, and accused the Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur of oblivious to the alarming situation.

The PML-N leader claimed that differences among the members of the provincial cabinet were increasing on the distribution of funds.

He also expressed anguish over the rising dengue cases in the province, but said no serious efforts were being made to prevent the mosquito-borne disease from getting out of control.

Mr Muqam said at a time when most of the public sector universities in the province were running without vice-chancellors, the government was planning to sell the land of the higher seats of learning. The minister said there should be no politics on the issue of peace.

To a question, the federal minister said imposing governor’s rule in the province could be considered in future, but no such thing was on the table presently.

He said that the government could get the proposed constitutional amendments sailed through the parliament if it could muster the two-thirds majority.

Mr Muqam said that talks were going on with different countries on the issue of sending the remaining Afghan citizens back to their country.

Published in Dawn, September 24th, 2024