THE recent anniversary of Marka-e-Haq has been celebrated with great zeal and zest across the country by all segments of society, reflecting a strong resolve of faith in unity and complete trust and solidarity with their defence forces.
However, the recent midnight attacks on May 10, 2026, on police check posts in Koser Fateh Khel and Kangar, District Bannu, shattered the families of martyrs and the general public emotionally and psychologically, wherein fifteen police personnel embraced martyrdom. Before this, the martyrdom of Sheikh Idrees had also made the environment beleaguered and gloomy. The Khawarij have not stopped their terrorist activities and destroyed Lora Bridge in the Nurar area of Bannu on May 12, 2026. On the same day, they blasted a bomb in the main bazaar of Naurang, Lakki Marwat, in which two police personnel and five civilians lost their lives.
This is not the first incident in southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where police stations, check posts and cantonment security installations have repeatedly come under attack. The Khawarij’s attack on September 2, 2025, on the Federal Constabulary Lines Bannu, where police under RPO Sajjad Khan and Major Adnan Aslam demonstrated extraordinary bravery and the November 2025 attacks on Cadet College South Waziristan, along with attacks on a police van and the killing of five police personnel in an ambulance in Gurguri area of Karak, are key examples.
Bannu Police has largely controlled general crime and, through an “Open Door Policy” and regular “Darbar” meetings, has improved liaison with the public and boosted police morale. Despite these efforts, southern districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa—including Kohat, Karak, Bannu, Lakki Marwat, Dera Ismail Khan, North & South Waziristan and former tribal areas—continue to face persistent insecurity, where kidnapping, ransom cases and killings of security personnel remain routine occurrences.
A serious question has come to the surface amid the prevailing anarchy in South KP: on whom can responsibility for security lapses be placed? Who is primarily accountable for the security of the people? What kind of support do the security forces (Police and Army) enjoy from the local populace? Are the political leaderships of Bannu and other districts considerate of restoring peace and stability in their localities? The existing security crisis in these areas reflects serious political and social hurdles in achieving a peaceful South KP.
First, the Provincial Government least bothers to securitization of its people and is consistently engaged in shifting responsibility of the State without knowing the definition of the State. Article 7 of Part-III defines “the State” as the Federal Government, Parliament, a Provincial Government, a Provincial Assembly and such local or other authorities in Pakistan as are by law empowered to impose any tax or cess. The Provincial Chief Minister, being the Chief Executive, is also the Chairman of the Provincial Apex Committee. The provincial government collects taxes from its people but has failed to deliver to them. It has failed to meet public mandate, reflected in frequent changes in government setup and severe internal leadership crisis among party ranks.
Internal security is primarily the constitutional and legal prerogative of the provincial government. Contrary to this, the KP Chief Minister declines responsibility for internal security and targets the Pakistan Army and intelligence agencies for security crises in various parts of the province. Second, the provincial government is also against seeking support from the Army and security agencies. Third, local political leadership in Bannu turns a blind eye to ground realities and engages in unnecessary criticism of the Pakistan Army, exploiting public sentiment. The ruling party leadership has also failed to deliver on its mandate and the vacuum has been filled by opportunist elements lacking understanding of security dynamics.
Fourth, statements like “Dollar war” and “Proxy war” by the Chief Minister undermine sacrifices of security forces and strengthen militants and sympathisers. Fifth, the provincial government has failed to provide jobs, creating frustration among youth and many have joined the Khawarij. Sixth, the incumbent CoAS and Chief of Defence Forces Field Marshal Asim Munir has inherited security challenges from the former Premier Imran Khan’s regime, which allegedly allowed thousands of militants to enter Pakistan.
In such critical security environment, the Federal Government and Military leadership has left no stone except to proclaim Internal Emergency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa or at least in South KP under Article 232 of 1973 Constitution of Pakistan as the Provincial Government has confessed its failure to provide security to its people. Politics at cost of blood and lives of our soldiers must be stopped and the CDF Asim Munir needs to revise its security strategy and need to launch Marka-e-Haq-II against the Khawarij and their sympathizers within the national boundaries of Pakistan. The people of Pakistan especially of South KP have eye on their military leadership.
—The writer is Chairman & Security Expert, Department of Political Science, Islamia College Peshawar.
