ISLAMABAD: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi on Sunday accused the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) of backing away from commitments on counterterrorism, saying its actions had raised questions about whether the party was facilitating an environment in which terrorists could operate freely in the province.
Kundi said this in a post on X in response to a tweet by Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, who said the KP government had backed out of a number of security-related commitments during the final stage of government-PTI negotiations.
“Should these not have been the priorities of a provincial government whose own province is bleeding?” Kundi said in a post on X.
He alleged that the PTI had “exposed itself as a facilitator of terrorism”, adding that its actions and repeated compromises raised serious questions about whether it was facilitating the environment in which terrorists operated freely in KP.
“Instead of taking ownership of the war against terrorism and protecting our people, the provincial government has backed away from commitments on security,” the governor said, describing the move as “shameful” and “an act of pure cowardice”.
Kundi’s remarks came hours after Naqvi said the KP government had agreed to sign a written agreement and submit an implementation plan within 72 hours covering a range of counterterrorism and security measures, but allegedly withdrew from those commitments during the final phase of negotiations.
According to Naqvi, the proposed agreement included reconsideration of the Police Act 2026 in light of the security situation and measures to prevent security matters from being politicised.
The KP government had also agreed, according to the interior minister, to prevent terrorists from operating freely or establishing safe havens in the province and to unequivocally condemn the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Tehreek-i-Taliban Afghanistan (TTA) and other terrorist groups.
Other proposed commitments included support for the federal government’s policy on Afghan refugees, including repatriation and dismantling of Afghan refugee camps in KP, as well as refraining from contact with the interim Afghan government.
Naqvi said the proposed agreement also covered increased funding for counterterrorism operations and the police, greater provincial ownership of counterterrorism measures, stronger cooperation with the armed forces, decisions relating to counterterrorism in former FATA and the merged districts, and implementation of the National Action Plan.
“Last night, during the final phase of negotiations, the KP government backed out of these commitments,” Naqvi said, arguing that security must not be politicised while the province was facing a war-like situation.
The allegations came after two rounds of government-opposition talks aimed at preventing the PTI’s planned October 4 march on Islamabad ended in deadlock early Sunday.
The negotiations involved not only the PTI’s political demands but also disagreements over counterterrorism policy in KP. Government representatives maintained that the provincial government needed to provide clear assurances regarding its cooperation with the federal government and security forces.
The PTI, however, has presented a different account of the disagreement. PTI negotiator Salman Akram Raja said the party wanted counterterrorism actions in KP to be based on agreement between the federal and provincial governments and on consultation with political parties represented in the provincial assembly.
The PTI has also said it has “zero tolerance for terrorism” but opposed what it described as collateral damage involving civilian deaths and internal displacement, arguing that counterterrorism policies should have the support of the local population and be based on ground intelligence.
The failure to bridge the differences over counterterrorism, along with unresolved demands concerning access to PTI founder Imran Khan, contributed to the breakdown of the talks. The PTI subsequently announced that it would proceed with its long march towards Islamabad.
The government has said it will not allow the march to enter the federal capital, while authorities have taken measures to restrict movement on key routes leading towards Islamabad.
The latest exchange between Kundi and Naqvi has added another political dimension to the dispute, with the federal and KP governments now publicly presenting sharply different accounts of their respective responsibilities for dealing with militancy in the province.v
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