PRIME Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday said the Federal Government and military leadership were working together on a fast-track basis to restore lasting peace and promote development in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP). Addressing a meeting of the Federal Apex Committee in Peshawar, he announced a Rs.160 development package for the province for the “Changing, Improving, Strong Khyber Pakhtunkhwa” programme , pledging to make all-out efforts to accelerate the pace of socio-economic progress, which, he said, was badly affected due to deterioration of law and order situation and wrong policies of the PTI Government.
The visit of the Prime Minister to the province after imposition of the Governor’s rule and an emergency, the decisions taken at the apex committee meeting and declarations made by Shehbaz Sharif augur well for restoration of peace and security in the troubled KP and an unhindered process of progress and prosperity. No details have been given about the heft development package but one hopes it would focus on infrastructure development, especially in the neglected and far flung areas and investment in improving the security environment, which is a must for initiation and continuation of policies and schemes aimed at welfare of the people. It may, however, be pointed out that the province received Rs. 800 billion since 2010 over and above its due share from the National Finance Commission (NFC) award because of its frontline position in the war against terror. Serious questions are being raised about utilization of these additional resources, which were made available out of shares of other provinces, as no worthwhile initiative was taken to boost capabilities of police force and other law enforcing agencies. Police need modern weapons and gadgets as well as proper training and incentives to fight out terrorist outfits that are in possession of the latest weapons. As pointed out by the Prime Minister, 5,000 police vacancies were not filled, Safe City projects were yet to be completed, the capacity of the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) had not been enhanced significantly and neither were special measures taken regarding police training. Now Governor Faisal Karim Kundi has announced some measures aimed at boosting morale of the police force by ways of salary increase and compensation for victims and families of those martyred during counter-terrorism operations. These and similar other measures must be taken to fruition to enable law enforcers to produce desired results vis-à-vis elimination of terrorism and restoration of peace and security. The Centre imposed the Governor’s rule and an emergency on the plea that it was not getting the required level of cooperation from the KP Government and now that the province and the Federal Government are on the same page, there will be no justification in case of lack of visible progress in realization of goals of a peaceful province. It is encouraging that the meeting of the apex committee, chaired by the Prime Minister, was briefed about the KP’s administrative affairs, reforms in the governance system, accountability of institutions, transparency and measures to improve the delivery of public services. It emphasized that immediate and effective steps be taken to resolve the long-standing administrative problems faced by the province and to improve the lives of the people, with special focus on the merged districts and terrorism-affected areas. It may also be pointed out that the Pakistan Army successfully restored peace in the province in the period leading up to 2018 but the gains could not be consolidated due to lack of matching efforts by the civil administration. In this backdrop, the apex committee reaffirmed the national resolve for the complete elimination of terrorism in all its forms and dismantling of terrorist networks, their facilitators and supporting structures, declaring as well that the gains achieved through the sacrifices of people, martyrs, security forces and personnel of law enforcement agencies will be preserved at all costs. The measures deliberated to realize the goal included professional training, modern equipment, improved infrastructure, enhancing intelligence-gathering capabilities and further improving effective coordination among institutions. Efforts are also being made to enlist support of local people for security and developmental initiatives. In this regard, a 48-member Area Representative and Development Council (ARDC) has been constituted for 12 districts of KP, which face serious security challenges. Collective and coordinated efforts of all stakeholders will, hopefully, produce the desired results.
