Governor Faisal Karim Kundi chaired the first KP Advisory Council meeting in Peshawar on Sunday, hours after the federal government formed the council. The body will help run Khyber Pakhtunkhwa during the emergency and governor’s rule. At the outset, each member introduced themselves and the portfolio they will hold.
The council exists because the province’s elected government has ceased to hold office. On Sunday, emergency and governor’s rule were imposed in KP after a federal cabinet decision and the president’s approval. As a result, the governor now heads the provincial administration, with the council members handling individual departments.
KP Advisory Council meeting: Kundi sets the working rules
Kundi congratulated the members, but he also warned them about the scale of the task. They will receive briefings on their portfolios first. Then they will get a few days to settle into their departments.
After that, he expects speed. “We have to fast-track things. There will be zero tolerance on corruption,” he told the meeting, according to Dawn’s report. Work should finish on time, he added. He also said the council must show a clear difference from the governments that served before it.
Law and order topped his list of priorities. He said the council should not hesitate to learn from other provinces on security. Peace, in his view, also protects the province’s image. If KP has peace, he argued, tourists and investors will follow. He assured members of his full support and said he would stay available to them around the clock.
The meeting came on a day when the Centre also explained its case in public. Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi had earlier set out the contacts that failed to produce a joint approach, and our report on how Naqvi defended the KP emergency covers that briefing. The cabinet decision behind the emergency was taken on Sunday morning.
A message addressed to the people of KP
Kundi then read out a message for the people of the province. He said extraordinary circumstances had forced necessary measures under the Constitution. However, he promised to avoid allegations and political rhetoric.
His message centred on three promises. First, peace, protection and stability must return to KP. The province’s people, he said, had paid a huge price for terrorism. Pakhtuns were not a cause of terrorism, he stressed. Instead, they were its biggest victims.
“Our fight is against terrorism,” he said. He described that fight as one against the ideas and networks that support terrorism and weaken the law. Consequently, the state had resolved to remove terrorism from KP so people could live without fear.
Second, services will decide whether the new setup succeeds. Statements alone, he said, are not the real test of a government. The council will therefore focus on healthcare, education and employment alongside security. To support that work, the capacity of the police and the Counter Terrorism Department will be increased.
Third, the effort will target the whole support system behind attacks. Kundi said the province cannot solve the problem by targeting terrorists alone. Facilitators and financiers must also be removed, and anyone involved in terrorism will face the law.
What happens next in the province
Kundi closed by asking residents for cooperation. He assured them that the steps taken were not aimed at any single party or group. Their purpose, he said, was peace and security for the province.
The council now starts work while the emergency reshapes daily life. In the capital, containers blocked roads across Peshawar on Sunday, and police guarded key points. Earlier the same day, the PML-N and PPP had finalised their plan for KP emergency rule, so the council’s first days will be watched closely in Islamabad as well as in Peshawar.
FAQ
What is the KP Advisory Council?
It is the body formed by the federal government to help Governor Faisal Karim Kundi run Khyber Pakhtunkhwa during emergency and governor’s rule. Its members hold individual portfolios, much like provincial ministers.
What did Kundi name as the council’s first priority?
He named law and order. He said police and Counter Terrorism Department capacity will be increased, while the council also focuses on healthcare, education and employment.
Why was the KP Advisory Council formed?
It was formed after emergency and governor’s rule were imposed in KP on Sunday. The elected provincial government ceased to hold office, so the governor and council now run the province.
