PESHAWAR: Chief Minister Muhammad Sohail Afridi said on Thursday that military operations were being imposed on Khyber Pakhtunkhwa without the approval of the provincial assembly and the provincial government.
“It is essential to take all stakeholders, including tribal elders and political and religious leadership, into confidence to establish sustainable peace in the province,” he said while chairing the 46th meeting of the provincial cabinet. He said terrorism had not been eliminated despite 22 major operations and 14,000 intelligence-based operations.
The chief minister said that the decision to withdraw Action in Aid of Civil Power had already been taken; however, the process was being delayed due to the federation’s failure to provide details of terrorist detention centres.
He warned that the absence of details regarding detained terrorists could create security concerns upon the withdrawal of Action in Aid of Civil Power.
The chief minister termed the federal government’s move to declare political parties proscribed under the Anti-Terrorism Act as wrong. He also called for a fresh review of the list of political workers included in Schedule Four.
He said that the Radio Pakistan incident was a conspiracy against PTI, adding that a special committee of the provincial assembly had been constituted to investigate the incident and that one meeting of the committee had already been held. The chief minister condemned the solitary confinement of PTI founder Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi, as well as the denial of meetings with them.
He said Imran Khan had been kept in solitary confinement for more than 90 days and was not being allowed to meet his family members and friends. Similarly, Bushra Bibi had been kept in isolation and denied meetings with her family, which he termed a grave violation of basic human rights. The chief minister said the Northern Bypass project had been delayed by the federation since 2010, resulting in the project cost escalating from Rs3 billion to Rs31 billion. He added that the provincial government had accelerated the project by providing Rs 5 billion from its own budget. He said a special committee was being formed in the provincial assembly to investigate alleged rigging in the February 8 elections, and that provincial employees would be summoned and questioned regarding electoral rigging. The chief minister said that the security forces were the country’s protectors and that the people were proud of them, adding that grievances were directed at their own people. He said that while terrorist attacks claimed civilian lives, civilians were also being martyred as collateral damage. He stressed that legislation was needed on civilian casualties caused by drone and aerial attacks.
The chief minister said the federation was not providing the promised funds for Temporarily Displaced Persons, forcing the provincial government to spend Rs7.5 billion from its own resources so far.
He said that following the announcement of operations, people of KP were displaced and left to the province, placing a heavy financial burden on provincial resources. So far, up to Rs10 billion had been spent, while there was a risk of further losses amounting to Rs100 billion.
He said that due to decisions taken behind closed doors, GDP had fallen from 6.1 percent to 2–3 percent, while public debt had increased from Rs43,000 billion to Rs80,000 billion.
Later, briefing the media on the cabinet’s key decisions, Special Assistant to the Chief Minister for Information and Public Relations Shafiullah Jan said the cabinet had approved several measures aimed at public welfare.
These included the introduction of artificial intelligence education in schools, promotion of positive youth activities, improvement of judicial infrastructure, prison reforms, legislative initiatives, and approval of funds for development schemes and relief activities.
He said the cabinet approved Rs2,684 million for improving prison facilities and strengthening security arrangements. The funds would be utilised to address shortages of basic facilities in various prisons and for the procurement of modern security equipment.
The cabinet approved the KP Education Testing and Evaluation Agency Bill 2025 and the KP Minerals Development and Management Company Bill 2025. According to the special assistant, the latter would provide a formal legal framework to the Minerals Development and Management Company operating in the province. The cabinet also approved the provision of land for the establishment of a Shamshan Ghaat for Hindu and Sikh communities in Dera Ismail Khan.
For the rehabilitation of people affected by the August 2025 floods, the cabinet approved a relief package worth Rs1,136 million. The cabinet approved the establishment of a Mines and Minerals Value Addition Hub at a cost of Rs2,500 million.
An amount of Rs300 million was approved under the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Education Foundation Scholarship Endowment Fund for students from the merged districts.
The cabinet also approved the inclusion of artificial intelligence courses in the computer science curriculum for students from Grade 6 to Grade 12.
Additionally, the cabinet approved a draft Memorandum of Understanding to declare Peshawar and New York as sister cities, a move aimed at promoting cooperation in cultural, trade, economic, educational, and governance sectors. The cabinet further approved the provision of 198 kanals of land for the establishment of two new graveyards in Peshawar.
