Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi has said the federal and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa governments now act in step in countering terrorism, and he expressed confidence that joint action will bring good results in the province. He spoke at an Apex Committee meeting in Peshawar, with Governor Faisal Karim Kundi seated beside him.
Naqvi described the day as the first on which he could openly say that both tiers of government agree on the issue. He noted that security personnel have worked in very hard conditions, recalling a time when residents were hesitant to attend funerals of terrorism victims while federal representatives travelled from Islamabad to pay their respects.
Naqvi urges provincial leadership and federal backing
Naqvi argued that the provincial government must lead the campaign, warning that lasting success would be out of reach without local leadership. He claimed the provincial administration had voiced opposition to terrorism but had not condemned it consistently.
He pledged that the federal government would meet its responsibilities and support security forces and law enforcement agencies wherever help was needed. He also urged officials not to lose heart, warning that harder days could lie ahead and that challenges must be faced together. He said that unity would leave opponents unable to defeat the state, and that sincere efforts would produce results.
Five-district policing plan and claims about PTI protests
The interior minister called for a return to the five-district policing plan, saying that empowering police in groups of five districts would strengthen their operational capacity. He added that the public wanted peace and freedom from terrorism, and that the government had to respond effectively to those demands.
On recent political developments, Naqvi alleged that PTI had expected road blockades to trigger unrest across the province. He praised law enforcement agencies for handling the situation peacefully. He also pointed to the growing difficulty of telling genuine videos from fabricated ones, citing the challenge posed by misleading digital material.
Naqvi concluded that coordinated efforts would move Khyber Pakhtunkhwa ahead of the other provinces in development and stability.
