ISLAMABAD: Parliamentary Affairs Minister Tariq Fazal Chaudhry has accused the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government of not cooperating with the Centre in the fight against terrorism.
Speaking to Geo News at Parliament House, Chaudhry said the PTI-led provincial government had disengaged from the counterterrorism effort.
He said this was causing serious losses to the national effort against terrorism.
The minister also accused the KP government of not standing with state institutions.
He said Chief Minister Sohail Afridi was not cooperating with efforts to prevent terrorism.
Chaudhry said three provinces were following Pakistan’s policy on Afghanistan. He claimed KP was not following the same policy.
Emergency Option Under Consideration
The minister said the federal government was considering imposing an emergency in KP.
The proposal comes amid a worsening security situation in the province. The Centre has also linked the move to the provincial government’s response to terrorism.
His remarks came after Information Minister Attaullah Tarar criticised the PTI-led KP government over counterterrorism efforts.
Tarar had also questioned PTI’s position on Pakistan’s fight against terrorism. He accused the party of facilitating terrorists over the past 12 years.
The remarks have added to tensions between the federal and KP governments.
Govt-PTI Talks End in Deadlock
The government and opposition recently held talks to ease tensions over PTI’s planned October 4 march towards Islamabad.
The negotiations ended without an agreement on key issues.
Both sides blamed each other for the failure of the talks.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi accused the KP chief minister of trying to undermine the negotiations.
PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja gave a different account.
He said the main issue was the federal government’s demand that the KP government take ownership of counterterrorism actions initiated by the Centre.
Meanwhile, PTI proceeded with its October 4 long march towards Islamabad.
Minister Says Dialogue Door Remains Open
Speaking to Geo News, Chaudhry said the opposition was focused on politics and the PTI founder.
He said Imran Khan was his political opponent. However, he added that he had no personal enmity with him.
The minister said meetings with the PTI founder had taken place in the past.
He added that the door for political dialogue always remained open.
However, Chaudhry said he did not expect negotiations to resume soon.
Two Reasons Cited for Talks Failure
The minister said the talks failed for two major reasons.
First, he claimed the opposition delegation did not have enough authority.
“All the authority was with the KP government,” he said.
He added that the negotiators had told the government they could not meet some demands.
Chaudhry cited differences in priorities as the second reason for the failure.
He also warned that the October 4 march would not be allowed to enter Islamabad.
Khawaja Asif Links KP Dispute to Terrorism
Defence Minister Khawaja Asif also commented on the situation.
He said the issue between the federal government and KP was “not politics but terrorism”.
In a post on X, Asif shared statistics about terrorism in KP over the past two years.
He claimed around 6,200 terrorism incidents had occurred during this period.
He also claimed that 1,200 people had been martyred and 37 suicide attacks had taken place.
“Just this year, 14 suicide attacks have already occurred, the majority by Afghan nationals,” he added.
Asif further said there was no shortage of funds for KP.
However, he claimed corruption and weak governance were reducing their impact.
