IN various primitive societies, people established their respective dispute resolution councils with different nomenclature to resolve their mutual issues and also make decisions with respect to defense.
The most popular of such councils in the Indo-Pak sub-continent were the Punchayat System and Jirga system. Jirga was a traditional gathering in Pakhtoon society that was regulated under the Pakhtoon Code of Conduct (Pakhtunwali). Later on, it was given legal cover under the Frontier Crimes Regulations, 1901. It was composed of local tribal elders and the Political Administration. In the recent past, the holding of Jirgas in various parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has become a trend to restore peace. The Pakhtoon Tahafuz Movement, along with some resented elements, held a gathering under the banner of “Pakhtoon Qaumi Jirga (PQJ)” on October 11, 2024, wherein a majority of Pashtoon leaders from different political parties participated and it also enjoyed the KP Government’s patronage.
Likewise, on a daily basis small Jirgas are also held by local people to express their grievances against the ongoing wave of militancy. In June 2025, Grand Jirga was convened in which Prime Minister of Pakistan, Mr. Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, Federal Ministers of Defence, Interior, Information and Federal Minister for Kashmir & GB Affairs, Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, CM & Governor Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and other eminent tribal elders from across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa participated. On July 26, 2025 ANP held a Jirga in Bacha Khan Markaz Peshawar that was ended without bearing any fruit due to mutual differences. Similarly, JI held Jirga on July 30, 2025; and opposition leaders of KP Assembly decided to hold Aman March (Peace March) towards Islamabad on August 23, 2025.
Security needs to be understood in a broader spectrum. Political leadership and the common man ignore regional and international security structure, culture, environment and dynamics. PTI has been ruling KP since 2013 and also held government at the federal level. The PTI-led federal government entered into an agreement with the former Tehreek-e-Taliban (now Khawarij), which the KP Government still keeps secret and is reluctant to make public. Since then, the people of KP, KP Police, defence forces, local elders and intelligence agencies have paid a huge price in terms of lives and families. The Khawarij has reorganized, regrouped and changed tactics by acquiring modern arms, ammunition from the black market and even access to drones to target security forces. Despite this, the government failed to redesign its security policy or strengthen KP Police with training, modern weapons and financial resources.
CM Ali Amin tried to curtail the power of KP IGP. In October 2024, the KP Cabinet attempted to amend the KP Police Act, 2017 to transfer the powers of posting and transferring BPS-18 and BPS-19 officers from the Provincial Police Chief to the CM. This move would politicize and demoralize police high-ups. Moreover, the Shuhuda package is not a solution. Ironically, the KP Government wasted poor taxpayers’ financial resources on futile protest exercises. Although the CM hails from South KP, he turned a deaf ear to his region. Similarly, elected representatives of merged districts only protest and criticize the Army, ISI and MI over the ongoing militancy instead of educating locals about ground security realities. On 24 July, 2025, CM Ali Amin issued an irresponsible statement targeting ISI and MI for creating “Good Taliban” and releasing such elements from police custody, stating that institutions would protect the borders. On 27 July, 2025, the CM, in the PTI-led Parliamentary Committee, opposed a security operation in Bajaur. Yet on 30 July, 2025, he reversed his stance in the Apex Committee meeting, emphasizing unity against terrorism.
The current development raises some fundamental questions: 1) With the calling back of defence forces under Article 245-A of the Constitution, who will shoulder the responsibility of ensuring the safety and security of the general public and security forces and on whom will such responsibility be fixed? 2) If political leaders from various parties can unite for Senate elections, why can they not reach a mutual understanding on a concrete security policy? 3) Is dialogue with Khawarij a doable solution to restore peace? If so, why is the CM KP not taking responsibility for this noble cause? 4) Does KP Police possess enough resources to counter such elements?
In a nutshell, blaming ISI, MI, or the Pakistan Army is nothing but a face-saving strategy. The KP Government lacks a workable security strategy and people’s security is not its priority. It is engaged in protest politics. Other political parties are also playing foul games. Irresponsible statements confuse the common voter and demoralize security forces, strengthening Khawarij. The public and political leadership must now differentiate military operations from security operations. Earlier, military operations occurred due to legal inaccessibility to tribal areas. Now, joint intelligence-based security operations involve KP Police, CTD, FC, Frontier Constabulary and the Pakistan Army.
—The writer is Chairman & Security Expert, Department of Political Science, Islamia College Peshawar.
