Kundi puts security before development on KP's first day under governor's rule

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi said on Monday that security would come first under the province’s new administration, as he and Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi chaired a meeting of the provincial apex committee a day after emergency and governor’s rule were imposed.

“We can sacrifice our development, but never security,” Kundi told the meeting, Dawn reported, noting a “lack of synergy” in counterterrorism efforts until now.

“Now it will show”

Kundi said the administration would meet the demands of the Counter-Terrorism Department and police and “work 24/7”, with no time for holidays or weekends. He promised “result-oriented” action rather than cosmetic measures.

He said people in districts such as Dera Ismail Khan, Tank and Waziristan “have no freedom to live, travel and do other things”, and called for restoring freedom of movement there. “It should be written in history that these people came and restored peace in the province,” he said, adding that apex committee meetings would now be held regularly.

Naqvi: “on the same page”

“Today is the first time I can proudly say that the federal and the provincial governments are on the same page,” Naqvi said. He said the war against terrorism had been fought with “no backend support”, and that the Centre had asked the previous provincial government “dozens of times” to work with it.

“This is the same force, these are the same people, but the only difference you will see is that the same people will show you results,” he said. ARY News reported that he also called for a return to the five-district policing plan, under which police would work in groups of five districts.

Afridi in custody

Officials confirmed that suspended chief minister Sohail Afridi and some of his cabinet members are in preventive custody. “Yes, I can confirm that the chief minister and some of his cabinet members have been taken into preventive custody,” Minister of State for Interior Tallal Chaudhry told Reuters, adding that those with cases against them would be tried and the rest released.

A senior police official told Dawn that eight people, including Afridi, MNA Junaid Akbar and assembly speaker Babar Saleem Swati, were being held. The PTI said the detentions “exposed the political nature” of the federal government’s actions.

On the ground

• Peshawar: entry and exit points to the Cantonment stayed closed, with containers on several roads and the M-1 motorway closed towards Swabi
• Schools: all government and private educational institutions stayed shut and the day’s exams were cancelled
• Section 144: Shangla, Buner, Hangu, Chitral and Upper and Lower Dir banned gatherings, rallies and carrying weapons, some for 30 days
• Arrests: police said more than two dozen PTI workers were detained in one district, and a protest in Bara was dispersed
• South Waziristan: markets in Wana stayed open and the situation was calm

The federal government has also notified the deployment of Pakistan Army troops under Article 245 to support the civil administration for the duration of the emergency. The governor will decide troop numbers in consultation with GHQ, the notification said.

Why it matters

The new administration has staked its case on one promise: results against terrorism. How quickly it delivers in the worst-hit districts will decide how the people of KP judge the emergency. Read our reports on the imposition of emergency and governor’s rule and on KP’s new chief secretary.

This article draws on reporting by Dawn, ARY News and Reuters.