Shehbaz Slams PTI Rule in KP After 13 Years

PTI rule in KP came under sharp attack from Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday, as he told PML-N lawmakers from the province that thirteen years of PTI government had left basic needs unmet. He asked whether public funds had been used transparently, and he defended the emergency and governor’s rule imposed on 11 October as unavoidable.

The prime minister spoke at a meeting of the PML-N parliamentary party from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, held in Islamabad. Dawn reported his remarks, and The Express Tribune carried the same speech with further detail on the relief measures he announced.

What Shehbaz said about PTI rule in KP

Shehbaz said the PTI had spent thirteen years in power in the province raising slogans, delivering fiery speeches, holding long marches and sit-ins, and making promises. He recalled pledges to build hundreds of dams, generate hundreds of megawatts of solar power, and set up hospitals, universities and schools across KP. He then asked, one by one, whether any of those pledges had been kept.

“How many universities have been established there? How many new hospitals have been built? How much has the healthcare system improved? What facilities have actually been provided to the people? And how much corruption has taken place in the process?” he asked.

He said most people from Peshawar to Kohistan, Hazara and the south would say the PTI government had done very little. He also asked why around 5,000 vacant police posts had not been filled.

The terrorism toll behind the argument

Shehbaz presented terrorism as the reason the Centre had acted. He said around 80,000 people had lost their lives to terrorism in Pakistan, and the economy had suffered losses estimated at Rs15,000 billion. He praised Nawaz Sharif’s policies after the 2014 Army Public School tragedy, in which more than 140 students and teachers were killed.

He criticised the PTI for allowing what he called brutal terrorists from Afghanistan to settle in Swat, and he recalled that the 2014 sit-in in Islamabad had forced the postponement of a scheduled visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping.

On money, Shehbaz said hundreds of billions had been allocated to the KP government under a special National Finance Commission arrangement to fight terrorism. The Tribune’s version puts a figure on the wider award: under the 2010 NFC Award, an extra one per cent of resources went to KP, and the province received Rs800 billion, yet none of it went into counterterrorism capacity. He argued that even Rs80 billion spent on police and law enforcement agencies would have left them better equipped.

Why the emergency was imposed, in his words

Shehbaz said a committee of PPP and PML-N members negotiated with the PTI for 48 hours, and a draft was finalised, but approval from then chief minister Sohail Afridi never came. The Centre was therefore compelled to impose an emergency and governor’s rule, he said, calling the decision timely. Less than a week after the 11 October move, a joint sitting of parliament approved it amid strong protest from the opposition.

He also cited a Rs75 billion fuel subsidy scheme benefiting around 13 million people.

What he asked PML-N lawmakers to do next

“Focus on short-term welfare projects so that you can help turn people’s fortunes around within the next six months to a year,” Shehbaz told PML-N lawmakers from KP.

Frequently asked questions

What did Shehbaz Sharif say about PTI rule in KP?

He said thirteen years of PTI government produced slogans, marches and promises, but very little for basic needs, and he asked how many universities and hospitals had actually been built.

Why did the federal government impose an emergency in KP?

Shehbaz said talks ran for 48 hours and a draft was finalised, but approval from then chief minister Sohail Afridi never came, so the Centre imposed an emergency and governor’s rule on 11 October.

How much money did he say went to KP for fighting terrorism?

He said hundreds of billions were allocated under a special NFC arrangement, and the Tribune’s account adds that KP received Rs800 billion under the 2010 NFC Award.

What did he ask PML-N lawmakers from KP to do?

He asked them to set long-term projects aside and focus on short-term welfare projects, so that people’s fortunes could turn around within six months to a year.