Kundi: People of KP Have First Right to Province Resources, Governor Says
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi has said that the people of the province have the first right to its resources, and that no outsider will be allowed to take control of them.
“No one should think that foreigners will come and loot this province. Till I am here, the people of the province will have the first right to its resources,” Kundi said while addressing a ceremony in Peshawar on Sunday.
The governor, who has assumed administrative control of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa after the imposition of governor’s rule and emergency in the province, said his first priority was the protection of the people of the province, then the province itself, and then Pakistan.
Why Kundi raised the issue now
Kundi’s remarks follow allegations by Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, who has claimed that the imposition of governor’s rule and emergency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was linked to the government’s motive to take control of the province’s resources.
Fazlur Rehman also questioned the government’s position on mineral resources during a National Assembly session earlier this week, when he criticised the Centre over the emergency and governor’s rule in the province.
Claims have also been circulating on social media that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s minerals would be given or sold to the United States. Kundi did not name any specific claim, but said several reports would be circulating in the media and on social media, and that his priority remained the protection of the people of the province.
Joint ventures, but on local terms
Kundi said a third party from outside Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, whether a foreigner or someone from elsewhere in Pakistan, could enter into a joint venture with the people of the province if willing.
The distinction matters. The governor did not rule out outside investment or partnership. He framed it as something that must happen with the people of the province, not over them. That is the line his speech drew: partnership is possible, but control stays local.
He made the remarks after outlining the diversity of the province’s resources, a point that underlines why the question carries weight in Peshawar. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa holds minerals, forests, water and hydel potential, and arguments over who benefits from them have run for years, long before the current political crisis.
The wider dispute over governor’s rule
The resources argument sits inside a larger dispute. Governor’s rule and emergency were imposed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa after a prolonged standoff between the Centre and the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) provincial government, which ended with the chief minister’s removal from office and the governor taking charge.
The move has been challenged in the courts and debated in parliament, where the government has defended it as unavoidable while the opposition has called it unconstitutional. Fazlur Rehman’s resources allegation is one part of that wider criticism, and Kundi’s speech is the governor’s direct answer to it.
For readers in the province, the practical question is what changes on the ground. Kundi’s assurance, on its own, does not settle any contract, royalty or revenue question. It does put the governor on record, in Peshawar, saying that the people of the province come first in any arrangement over their resources. That statement will now be measured against whatever decisions follow.
What happens next
The Dawn report of the speech ended with the words “More to follow”, which means further detail of the ceremony may still emerge. The governor’s office has not, in the report, announced any new policy on minerals or resource contracts.
What is clear is that the resources question has become part of the political argument over governor’s rule, and both sides are now speaking to it in public. Fazlur Rehman has raised it in the National Assembly. Kundi has answered it in Peshawar. The next test will be whether either side moves from statements to specifics: which resources, which arrangements, and on what terms.
Frequently asked questions
What did Governor Kundi say about KP resources?
He said the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have the first right to the province’s resources, and that no one should think foreigners will come and loot the province.
Why did he speak about resources now?
His remarks follow allegations by JUI-F chief Fazlur Rehman that governor’s rule and emergency in the province were linked to a motive to take control of its resources, as well as claims on social media about KP minerals.
Did Kundi rule out outside investment?
No. He said a third party from outside the province, foreign or Pakistani, could enter a joint venture with the people of the province if willing.
Who is in charge of KP at present?
Governor Faisal Karim Kundi has assumed administrative control of the province following the imposition of governor’s rule and emergency.
