Political party head upset over not being appointed KP governor, claims Naqvi

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi expressed surprise on Friday that a "party head" was "extremely upset" about not receiving the governorship of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), though he did not single out an individual. Speaking to reporters in Lahore, Naqvi was apparently referring to Maulana Fazlur Rehman, the chief of Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), who has been vocal in his opposition to the federal government's imposition of governor's rule in KP.

Naqvi alleged that Rehman had relied on the establishment for decades to advance his political career and had even used establishment resources to arrange air tickets for his party members. Naqvi suggested that such politicians had little basis to criticize others, particularly after receiving benefits from the same system they now denounce.

The minister's comments come in the wake of the imposition of governor's rule and emergency in KP, prompted by the provincial government's "deliberate disengagement" from the fight against terrorism. The decision has sparked criticism from the opposition, including Fazl, as well as Mehmood Khan Achakzai and Raja Nasir Abbas of the Tehreek-i-Tahafuz Ayin-i-Pakistan.

Tensions between the Centre and the opposition had been high since Fazl's party, the PTI, announced a protest march to Islamabad to demand its leader Imran Khan's release. Despite intense negotiations between the two sides, no agreement was reached before the governor's rule was imposed. Fazl accused the Centre of reneging on its promises following his mediation efforts.

After the imposition of governor's rule, Fazl declared his party's rejection of the decision and vowed to challenge it through democratic and constitutional avenues. He reiterated that his party would not "bow, even for a moment, before such unconstitutional measures." More recently, Fazl condemned the Centre for depriving provinces of their rights and recalled his party's reservations over the merger of tribal areas into KP following the 25th Constitutional Amendment in 2018.

Fazl argued that the people of those areas were not consulted and that the Centre took control of their resources by imposing emergency in KP. Naqvi also addressed the issue of former tribal areas, criticizing political leaders for failing to advocate for the rights of their inhabitants during the merger process. He emphasized that the rights and resources of the people of these areas should be given priority over political interests.

Naqvi called on political leaders to assume a constructive role in restoring peace and combating terrorism in KP, urging them to refrain from exacerbating the situation with political confrontation.