Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur has said that he will not allow military operation in the province and added that people of the province bore the brunt of the “wrong decisions” made in the past.
“As a chief minister, I announce that we will not allow any operation in this province,” CM Gandapur said while addressing a gathering of the Aman Jirga in Bannu on Friday.
“We will not shy away from shedding our blood for our country but will make our decisions on our own,” he added.
The development came a day after CM Gandapur chaired a meeting of the apex committee, seeking to reassure the representatives of the Bannu Aman Jirga who sought increased role of police in the province among other demands.
The meeting of the province’s top security body discussed the issues related to terrorism and the Bannu incident wherein at least four people were killed and several others sustained injuries after a protest staged on traders’ call against deteriorating law and order situation escalated and turned unpleasant.
The incident caused widespread outrage in Bannu, after which CM Gandapur visited the area and tried to calm the people.
In his address today, the PTI-backed CM noted that wrong decisions were imposed on the country by the “slaves of the US”, adding that the people of the province suffered huge losses due to wrong decisions made in the past.
CM Gandapur reiterated his resolve against terrorism, saying the provincial authorities would not tolerate any armed group in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He stressed that police would launch action wherever they suspected the presence of miscreants.
“Any highhandedness, if committed in the province, will be perceived as being against me,” he remarked.
Responding to Gandapur’s statement, Federal Information Minister Tarar said the chief minister had to give such statements as he was answerable “to a man [Imran Khan] imprisoned in the Adiala Jail”.
He stated this while addressing a press conference flanked by Federal Minister for Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit Baltistan Engineer Amir Maqam today.
Reacting to the CM’s assertion that he would not allow any operation, the information minister asked Gandapur to tell the nation about his plan to eliminate terrorism in the province.
The KP’s provincial government has no plan in place against terrorism, he stressed, claiming that terrorism spiked when during the tenure of PTI-led in Centre “as they brought the TTP back”.
Tarar raised a question about what action the KP government took against the “timber mafia” involved in the massive tree-cutting in Battagram, claiming that a minister and certain officials of the forest department are part of the racket.
Highlighting “another big scandal in the province”, he said that the provincial government signed an agreement with a “fake” institution of artificial intelligence for training students. People affiliated with the institution have no proper degree or expertise in artificial intelligence, he said.
