Fazlur Rehman seeks joint in-camera session on K-P security; ministers push back
LAHORE: Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Saturday called for a joint in-camera session of parliament to discuss the security situation in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, as federal ministers rejected his criticism and defended the government’s administrative arrangements in the province.
The Fazlur Rehman in-camera session demand adds a new political dimension to the standoff over the federal government’s imposition of emergency and governor’s rule in K-P on October 11.
Fazlur Rehman’s in-camera session demand
Speaking to reporters in Lahore, Fazl urged the government to convene an in-camera session of parliament to brief lawmakers on the security situation and its counterterrorism strategy. He questioned why the nation was not being taken into confidence.
“If the nation is to form a force against terrorism and sit in the trenches, then take the nation into confidence,” he said.
He argued that parliament was the only platform through which the government could take the nation into confidence. “The only platform for taking the nation into confidence is parliament. Apart from that, where is the nation?” he asked.
Talal Chaudhry’s sharp response
Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry, addressing the media in Jaranwala, expressed disappointment over what he described as an attempt by the JUI-F chief to seek a share in the province’s administration after the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s removal from power.
“We did not expect Maulana to consider this as spoils of war and seek his share because PTI is no longer there,” Talal said. “This is not spoils of war,” he added.
He rejected the suggestion that governor’s rule was imposed to gain a political foothold or replace the PTI with another arrangement. “This was an administrative setup,” he said, with a “one-point agenda: combating terrorism.” He added that the aim was to restore conditions in which children could attend school and businesses could operate without fear.
The PTI-TTP allegation
Talal went further, alleging that the PTI and the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan shared mutual interests. He cited a statement by the militant group opposing governor’s rule in K-P.
“We have been saying for a long time that there must be some relationship, some mutual interest or something common between the TTP and PTI,” he said.
He claimed no PTI leader or gathering had faced a terrorist attack since 2015, while other parties and security forces had been repeatedly targeted. He also recalled that the TTP had named Imran Khan among proposed interlocutors for talks in 2013-14, and alleged that reintegrating TTP fighters after the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan had worsened the security situation.
Tariq Fazal Chaudhry weighs in
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Tariq Fazal Chaudhry also criticised Fazl for linking the emergency to an alleged bid to seize the province’s mineral resources. In a post on X, he said terrorism should not be politicised, and called on the PTI, which governed K-P for 13 years, to account for the law and order situation.
The road to the emergency
The exchange follows the October 11 imposition of emergency and governor’s rule in K-P under Articles 232 and 234, which suspended the PTI-led administration and transferred executive authority to Governor Faisal Karim Kundi. A final round of government-opposition talks in Parliament, with PPP and PML-N representatives participating, collapsed before the decision.
The next institutional test comes on October 20, when the Peshawar High Court hears the challenge to the K-P emergency, against a tense security backdrop: the National Strategic Command has warned adversaries against any miscalculation, while two militants were killed in an intelligence-based operation in Dalbandin.
The original reporting on this development was published by The Express Tribune. See also Faisal Vawda: “No one is bigger than Pakistan”.
FAQ
What did Fazlur Rehman demand on Saturday?
The JUI-F chief called for a joint in-camera session of parliament to brief lawmakers on the K-P security situation and the government’s counterterrorism strategy.
How did the government respond?
Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry rejected the criticism, calling the K-P setup an administrative arrangement with a one-point agenda of combating terrorism, and accused Fazl of treating the situation as “spoils of war”. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Tariq Fazal Chaudhry also criticised the linking of the emergency to mineral resources.
When was governor’s rule imposed in K-P?
The federal government imposed emergency and governor’s rule on October 11 under Articles 232 and 234 of the Constitution, transferring executive authority to Governor Faisal Karim Kundi.
What happens next?
The Peshawar High Court is scheduled to hear the legal challenge to the emergency and governor’s rule on October 20.
