APC realities

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is again bleeding. And the political leadership, rather than rising to the occasion, is locked in a blame game that serves no one, least of all the people facing daily threats to their lives and livelihoods. At the All-Parties Conference (APC) held in Peshawar this week, Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur pulled no punches, accusing intelligence agencies of undermining police efforts by facilitating the release of so-called ‘Good Taliban’. The KP chief minister made clear that KP would no longer tolerate this duplicitous policy, calling for the complete removal of militants from the province. He also rejected the idea of large-scale military operations and drone strikes, which, he argued, have failed in the past and inflicted further trauma on local communities. Instead, Gandapur called for enhanced border security and intelligence-based operations, leaving the responsibility of internal law enforcement to the provincial government. Regardless of one’s view of the chief minister or his party, some of what he said did address some difficult truths: that KP remains hostage to the violence of militancy, that areas within the province remain outside the state’s writ, and that the people are once again living in fear. Yet, disappointingly, opposition parties, including the ANP, PPP, JUI-F and PML-N, chose to boycott the APC. While the KP government’s own record of engagement – such as its refusal to attend the earlier APC convened by the governor – has been less than consistent, the opposition’s complete absence from this discussion is also not really defensible. The people of KP do not need political parties to trade moral victories. They need their elected representatives to sit at the table and find solutions.

That said, there is another side to it. The opposition’s dismissal of the APC as eyewash is also not without context. Critics say this ‘all-parties’ conference was more about sending a message to the federal government than about solving terrorism. That may well be true. And let’s face it: since when has the PTI prioritised talks and dialogue over rhetoric and plain and simple violence? But optics aside, the fact also is that a platform was provided to talk about the scourge of terrorism in a province that has suffered immensely, and continues to suffer, from its consequences. It was a missed opportunity to hold the KP government accountable on record, to ask the hard questions and to push for a unified strategy. The reality on the ground is chilling. Taliban influence has resurfaced in parts of the province. Entire communities are forced to pay extortion to militant groups. Travel after sunset is considered a risk to life. Sectarian tensions are once again resurfacing. And in the merged districts, many fear that renewed military operations could displace them yet again, as in the past – without proper rehabilitation.

None of this can be addressed without political will and cross-party cooperation. A province at the frontline of Pakistan’s fight against terrorism cannot afford to be a political battleground for petty rivalries. What it needs is consensus, compassion and clarity of purpose. The people of KP deserve better. They deserve a government – at both provincial and federal levels – that prioritises their safety and security over their slogan and optics.