The federal government and the establishment have conveyed a clear message to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leadership that there can be no compromise on Pakistan's counter-terrorism policy and that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government cannot pursue a security policy independent of the federation. According to well-placed sources, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leadership has been told in unequivocal terms that the growing terrorism threat in Pakistan, particularly in KP and Balochistan, is being viewed by the federal government and the security establishment as a consequence of foreign aggression, with Afghan soil being used for attacks against Pakistan.

The sources said Pakistan's assessment was that foreign elements were involved in supporting terrorism inside the country, with India being identified as a principal actor. They said Israel's role was also being discussed in the context of the broader threat assessment. According to the sources, the formulation of Pakistan's response to such foreign aggression is a federal responsibility.

The policy is to be devised by the federal government in consultation with the military and defence establishment, and the provinces are expected to fully support and implement it. "There cannot be different security policies for different provinces when the country is facing what is being treated as foreign aggression," a source involved in discussions with the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leadership said. The message assumes added significance amid the growing friction between the federal government and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-led KP government, particularly over the latter's approach to the security situation and its political confrontation with the Centre.

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leadership has reportedly been told that the situation in KP, in the backdrop of continuing terrorist attacks and the broader security threat, is not acceptable to the federal government or the security establishment. Any provincial approach that is perceived as being at variance with the national security policy would, therefore, not be acceptable. The sources stressed that the federal government expected the KP government to extend full cooperation to the security forces and other law-enforcement agencies in implementing the national counter-terrorism policy.

The communication to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leadership was also aimed at making clear that political differences between the Centre and the province could not be allowed to undermine the state's response to the security challenge. According to the sources, the federal government's position is that once a national security policy is formulated against a threat of foreign aggression, all provincial governments must support it rather than formulate or pursue their own policies.

The federal government and the establishment, sources said, want the KP government to demonstrate through its actions that it stands behind the national security policy and will provide all possible support to the security apparatus in combating terrorism. The sources made it clear that, from the Centre's perspective, the issue was no longer merely one of political disagreements between Islamabad and Peshawar. It was being treated as a national security matter, in which the federation would retain the final say on policy and strategy.