PESHAWAR: The Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl is the most vulnerable among mainstream political parties to militant attacks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, while next on the list are the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and Awami National Party, said the home and tribal affairs department in a report.

Political leaders, who are businesspersons by profession, too, are threatened by militant groups into paying extortion, according to the report submitted by the department to the Peshawar High Court in connection with a PTI petition for contempt proceedings against the provincial government and Mansehra administration for blocking its workers’ convention in the district despite the court’s orders.

The report, a copy of which is available with Dawn, comes after the Nov 22 meeting of the Provincial Intelligence Coordination Committee.

Additional chief secretary (home) Mohammad Abid Majeed chaired the meeting, where the advocate general, divisional commissioners, regional police officers, deputy commissioners of Peshawar, Mansehra, Dera Ismail Khan, Kohat, Abbottabad and Charsadda districts, and PICC members were in attendance.

Tehreek-i-Insaf also faces ‘significant threats’, says home dept report

The report also said there were “significant threats to the PTI due to its anti-establishment stand.”

“These threats emanate from the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan and other militant groups, which desire to cash [in on] this opportunity to pressure and malign the present government,” the report said.

It also said that the areas in close proximity to Afghan border or bordering tribal districts showed “heightened threats.”

The report said that 360 people were killed and 958 injured in 738 terrorist attacks between January and November 2023 with the deceased including 121 civilians and 239 members of law-enforcement agencies.

It also said that 653 personnel of law-enforcement agencies and 305 civilians suffered injuries in those attacks.

The report said that 246 incidents of terrorism were reported in the last two months leaving 65 personnel of law-enforcement agencies and 24 other people dead and 93 civilians and 164 officials of law-enforcement agencies injured.

It said that the PICC was informed that various district administrations and LEAs received threat alerts from the specialised intelligence agencies and therefore, they were under “encumbrance” to call the district intelligence coordination committee meetings to consider those alerts and take appropriate action, including denial of permission to hold gatherings.

“While Articles 16 and 17 of the Constitution provide that every citizen shall have the right to assemble peacefully and without arms, subject to any reasonable restrictions imposed by the law in the interest of the public order, they need to be read with the Constitution’s Articles 4 and 9 that hold security of life as the supreme right of all citizens,” it said.

The report said that the home and tribal affairs department had already notified standing operating procedures for political parties at the start of August for the maintenance of law and order to provide safe platforms to all activities while keeping safety and security of its citizens in paramount importance.

It added that the SOPs provided for political parties filing an application to the relevant deputy commissioner to get a no objection certificate for political activity, especially in case of larger gatherings where national level leadership was expected to arrive.

“That application should contain a tentative fortnightly schedule of political gatherings inscribed with details of venue, timing and list of leaders besides the expected number of audience,” it said.

The department said under SOPs, all political gatherings should be held in the broad daylight and should not exceed the assigned time limit and that in case of non-observance of the assigned timing, the leadership of the relevant political party would be responsible for any mishap.

Published in Dawn, November 26th, 2023