Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Central Information Secretary Shazia Marri on Friday criticised the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for failing to tackle terrorism despite 13 years in power, saying citizens' lives were no longer safe even in urban centres such as Peshawar.
Addressing a press conference outside Parliament House alongside Senator Quratulain Marri, MNA Fatahullah Khan and PPP leader Akhunzada Chattan, she said Pakistan had achieved significant successes against terrorism through the sacrifices of civilians and security personnel, but militancy had resurged in KP.
She questioned what concrete measures the provincial government had taken to restore peace, citing reports of three to five terrorist incidents daily. Marri also questioned the utilisation of the additional one per cent share allocated to KP under the National Finance Commission (NFC) arrangement to support counterterrorism efforts.
Citing figures, she said 3,787 people had been killed during a period she attributed to the former provincial government, with thousands more dying in subsequent years. She accused the provincial leadership of prioritising political matters over security and urged it to focus on the deteriorating law and order situation in Malakand division, Bajaur and Peshawar.
She said the government's responsibilities included protecting citizens and providing basic services such as education, healthcare, roads, electricity and water. Marri also criticised the decision to grant general amnesty to militants and facilitate the return of thousands of people, arguing that these measures had contributed to renewed security challenges.
She maintained that amnesty should benefit deserving and innocent people, not terrorists. Defending the federal government's constitutional measures concerning KP, she said the provincial government must cooperate with the Centre on security and fulfil its constitutional obligations.
Referring to Articles 148 and 149 of the Constitution, she said the relevant provisions should be read in their entirety. She added that the federal government had acted within the constitutional framework as a last resort to prevent terrorism from spreading.
The PPP, she said, supported political negotiations while placing national interests above political differences. Marri said security operations were intended to protect the public and rejected attempts to portray them as a threat to tribal communities.
She also said law enforcement agencies should not be singled out for criticism over counterterrorism operations, while the provincial government must accept responsibility for action against militants. She further criticised what she described as selective attention to the difficulties faced by a particular prisoner, saying the problems of thousands of other inmates also deserved consideration.
Speaking at the press conference, Akhunzada Chattan said the 2021 change of government in Afghanistan had failed to bring peace to Pakistan, with the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and groups described as the 'good Taliban' joining forces and fuelling renewed violence. He said militancy had disrupted social life in KP, particularly in Bajaur, where political leaders struggled to attend funerals and weddings.
The PPP leaders called for urgent action and federal-provincial cooperation to restore peace and protect citizens.