ISLAMABAD: Amid voices advocating the imposition of governor’s rule in Khyber Pakh­tunkhwa, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Friday called the PTI a ‘party of extremists’.

The PPP chief condemned the PTI, which rules the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, for not attending the multi-party conference (MPC) organised by KP Governor Faisal Karim Kundi on Thursday to discuss the deteriorating law and order situation in Kurram. He accused the PTI-led provincial government of “practising… extremist politics at the expense of people”.

It may be mentioned that some federal ministers at a recent cabinet meeting had suggested the imposition of governor’s rule to resolve the issues facing the province as the provincial government had failed to safeguard people’s lives.

The MPC was attended by the representatives of major political parties including PPP, JUI-F, ANP, PML-N, QWP, and JI.

Says KP govt has failed to maintain law & order in province, calls out party for skipping MPC

On Friday, the PPP chairman in a post on X said he welcomed Mr Kundi’s initiative to “engage all political parties in an effort to create political consensus and address the difficulties faced by the people of Pakhtunkhwa”.

Dialogue between political forces is the most effective means to not only address the political, economic and security challenges but also forge the political consensus and stability to achieve [the desired] results, he emphasised.

It is unfortunate that the government with executive authority and primary responsibility to address these issues has not spent even one day since they formed the government doing what they are meant to; serve the people of their province.

“They have been busy practising their extremist politics at the expense of the people of [Khyber] Pakhtunkhwa. Despite having been invited they refused to attend or contribute to this APC as well,” Mr Bhutto-Zardari regretted, referring to the PTI being in power in KP.

“The people of [Khyber] Pakhtunkhwa deserve their problems to be addressed,” he said, adding that “with or without the help of the KP government, we will continue to fight for the real rights of the people of all provinces.”

On Wednesday, PTI snubbed the invite to the MPC and announced its decision not to attend the event. The PTI said that PPP was working with the federal government to get it banned and had even got a resolution passed by the Balo­chistan Assembly in this regard. The party insis­ted that unlike PPP, it had a mandate from people to rule KP and was performing its duties well.

Meanwhile, JUI-F emir Maulana Fazlur Rehman also assailed the PTI decision about the MPC.

Talking to reporters in Swabi, he criticised the KP government for not calling the MPC. “The governor had to call this meeting when it is not his responsibility,” Maulana Fazl said. “It is the responsibility of the executive, which is not fulfilling its duty.”

The JUI-F chief said that the KP administration is focused not on governance or peace, but on keeping the status of being in power.

“There is no government in the province, they [PTI government] does not have any writ.”

Asked about the possibility of the governor’s rule in the province, the Maulana replied, “I have no knowledge about whether or not the governor’s rule will be imposed, nor will I comment on it.”

Published in Dawn, December 7th, 2024