Bilawal says KP governor's rule could end if opposition engages with Centre on counterterrorism

PPP Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari addressed the media on Sunday, suggesting that the opposition's willingness to engage with the Centre on a counterterrorism plan could potentially end governor’s rule and emergency imposed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP). The statement came a week after the Centre imposed governor’s rule citing the provincial government’s “deliberate disengagement” from fighting terrorism, following a mobilisation drive by the PTI, then in power in KP and opposition in the Centre, to demand the release of its jailed founder, Imran Khan.

Bilawal urged the opposition to join forces with the Centre for a united policy against terrorism, suggesting that if they were truly committed to fighting terrorists and wanted the emergency and governor’s rule to end, they should engage in discussions with the federal government and discuss a plan. He also mentioned that if the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister (Sohail Afridi) was unwilling to defend his homeland and fight those terrorists, the PPP was prepared to do so.

The PPP leader expressed concern over the increasing terrorist attacks across the country, stating that when the Taliban came to power in Kabul in 2021, the Pakistani government "invited the terrorists who were in Afghanistan to come back and live in our Swat, our Malakand, our former tribal areas". Bilawal lamented that Pakistan was now facing losses due to these wrong decisions, with terrorists being freed and the country suffering from the consequences.

He also noted that the PPP had prepared the entire society for counterterrorism operations in 2008 and during the National Action Plan, adopting a holistic approach to combat terrorism. Bilawal emphasized that success was achieved when every citizen of Pakistan joined the fight against terrorism. He further mentioned that Pakistan was facing a historic economic crisis and that addressing this issue while fighting terrorism should be the priority.

The PPP chairman also invited opposition parties to participate in an electoral reforms committee being established in the National Assembly, urging them to help strengthen the democratic system in Pakistan. Bilawal stated that Governor Faisal Karim Kundi, nominated by the PPP for the office of governor, was now a representative of the federal government, but he would continue to advise him in principle.