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The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly on Tuesday witnessed a heated debate over the increasing incidents of terrorism and rising insecurity among residents, particularly those living in the merged tribal districts, as reported by Dawn.
The discussion on the deteriorating law and order situation was initiated by Arbab Usman Khan, an opposition MPA from the Awami National Party, who claimed that there had been a significant surge in terrorism-related incidents in the tribal districts, Dawn reported. Members from both the Treasury and opposition benches urged the chair to form a house committee to "tackle the situation before it spins out of control." MPA Mohammad Idrees Khan presided over the session. ANP's Arbab Usman Khan further said, "Some alarming and serious issues have been emerging in the merged tribal districts, and it seems there is no writ of the state," as reported by Dawn. He called on the chair to hold a multi-party meeting to address the insecurity in the merged areas, reassuring residents that they are not alone in this crisis and that support from the rest of the province is available. According to the report, Ahmad Kareem Kundi, the parliamentary leader of the opposition Pakistan People's Party, informed the assembly that the decline in law and order was not limited to the tribal districts; people from South Waziristan to Chitral were also experiencing a sense of insecurity. He further said, "I have concluded that youths of the province are facing insecurity and are angry over terror incidents." Kundi stated that development projects and other government initiatives are meaningless if the safety of people's lives and property is not guaranteed. Lamenting about the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government, he mentioned that it would take him several days to brief the assembly about the declining law and order situation in Dera Ismail Khan, the hometown of Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, adding that conditions were equally concerning in other districts. The report further stated that another MPA, Ali Hadi, from the Kurram tribal district, stated that the killing of innocent civilians by unidentified individuals had become commonplace, Dawn reported. He noted that numerous civilians had lost their lives in Kurram over the past few months, yet the authorities had not held the perpetrators accountable. Meanwhile, Mohammad Sohail Afridi, the Chief Minister's special assistant on communication and works, remarked that a war had been imposed on the merged tribal districts for the past two decades. "The people of merged areas have been suffering due to the wrong decisions of authorities," he said. Afridi emphasised that significant efforts are required to tackle militancy in the region. He also called on the chair to establish a committee with members from both the Treasury and opposition benches to develop a strategy in this regard and send a strong message to decision-makers. He warned that without such action, violence in the Pakhtun regions would persist. Earlier, the assembly approved the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Establishment of District Development Advisory Committee (Amendment) Bill, 2024, allowing MNAs to lead these committees in the province. The amended law states, "In sub-section (1) in Clause (a) before the words "Provincial Assembly," the words "National Assembly" shall be inserted." The members passed the bill with a majority vote, while the opposition opposed it, arguing that MPAs (Members of the Provincial Assembly) should have the right to lead the DDACs. The bill's "statement of objects and reasons" stated, "It is beneficial to enhance the representation of the DDAC by including National Assembly members and designating them as chairpersons, along with members of the provincial assembly where necessary and suitable." (ANI)
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