Governor stresses joint efforts for securing KP rights

PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi on Thursday stressed collective efforts by all political forces for securing provincial rights from the Centre.

“Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) would be invited to a jirga to be convened for the province’s rights. However, I fear the ruling party leadership would not attend the jirga,” he said while talking to the media during a visit to the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Secretariat.

Flanked by other leaders, including the party’s provincial chapter’s chief Muhammad Ali Shah Bacha and Information Secretary Amjad Ali Khan, the governor criticized the PTI provincial president’s confrontational attitude, stating that his utterances would achieve nothing for the province.

He said political forces were required to join hands for the KP rights. “But I am not required to visit the PTI office for this purpose. Neither I would respond to the statements of Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur as I have pardoned his (chief minister’s) team,” he said. The chief minister has, on a number of occasions, used harsh language publicly against the governor, sometimes even threatening to drag him out of the Governor’s House.

Kundi came down hard on the KP government and accused the rulers of having misplaced priorities. “I am concerned as the provincial government is selling the university land. I fear the ruling party may sell the Chief Minister’s House one day,” he said while referring to the reports that the PTI government wanted to dispose of the land acquired for Abdul Wali Khan University and other educational institutions in Mardan.

The governor accused the chief minister of duplicity. “Hurling threats and begging for funds simultaneously would not work,” he said.Pointing out the precarious law and order situation in Bannu and Kurram tribal districts, the governor said that the chief minister had not dealt well with the situation. “He should have visited Bannu in time,” said Kundi.

He was critical of Gandapur for not visiting Kurram so far. “A land dispute in Kurram is the cause of the conflict which should have been resolved,” he said and promised to take up the issue in the meeting with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in the next few days.

The governor said the KP government was complaining about a lack of resources for the police force. “Where the one percent of the National Finance Commission funds allocated for the fight against terrorism are being spent”? he asked and said why the police lacked weapons and the latest equipment.

Talking of the losses caused by rains and flash floods in parts of KP, Kundi stated that the Provincial Disaster Management Authority should have prepared for the monsoon rains well in advance.

The governor said that opposition lawmakers had complained about a lack of funds and the behavior of the bureaucracy. He urged the bureaucracy to refrain from such which he said was unacceptable behavior.