AS a precursor to a unified fight against the menace of terror in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), the federal and provincial governments have expressed their resolve to ensure enhanced mutual coordination and have started taking necessary measures in this regard. In his maiden news conference after assuming responsibility for administration of the province under the Governor’s rule, Faisal Karim Kundi declared emphatically that there would be seamless coordination with the Centre and that policies will come from Islamabad and not from Kabul, Kandahar or Jalalabad. Kundi also pledged full support to the police and security forces in KP, promising to “own them” and provide them with weapons and increased salaries as they fought on the “front lines” in the battle against terrorism.
The declaration of the Governor augurs well for restoration of peace and security in the troubled province as both the Centre and the Province are determined to pool their resources to produce desired results in the anti-terror campaign. This approach is also evident from a decision taken by the new administration of the province that development would be the second priority of the new setup while the first would be giving whatever resources were asked for to the police and the Crime Terrorism Department. This is logical in view of the fact that the province has become a major victim of terrorism and investment in law enforcing agencies is worth making. In fact, this should have been done much earlier as the province gets special allocations from the federal divisible pool of taxes in the name of war on terror but regrettably the money was not spent judiciously to strengthen law enforcement. The decision to raise salaries of KP police personnel, at least, to the level of police in other provinces and equip them adequately will help boost their morale as well as ability to take on terrorists. The Governor also said that disbursements under the martyrs’ package would be increased and the children of martyrs would be given free education. In a related development, Federal Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi provided the provincial police 10 armoured personnel carriers (APCs) on behalf of the Centre. He also assured that police and security forces would be granted as much in funds as they required. At the same time, the Governor is also paying attention to resolve problems of different segments of the society, which will help create the necessary environment to foster peace efforts.
Kundi called on young doctors who had been observing strikes in the province, urging them to end their protest and assuring that their issues would be solved. He also addressed university staff that were protesting over salaries and employment. The Governor held out an assurance to the members of the business community that his administration will work with them to solve their problems. Suspension of Internet service and closure of roads was negatively impacting the routine life in the province and the Governor assured work was in progress for restoration of routine activities. According to reports, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has constituted an informal 11-member coordination committee to liaise with the KP Government. Led by Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, the body will maintain close liaison with the new setup in KP and provide assistance in the discharge of its duties and security-related matters. All this shows the tempo of coordination between the Centre and the Province is picking up at a fast pace in view of the paucity of time and both are determined to produce results at the earliest as far as improvement in security situation and good governance is concerned. Hopefully, they will get complete support from different segments of the society as realization of these cherished goals will benefit each and every one in the province.