KP Cabinet amends police act; chief minister empowered to appoint police personnel; can ask Center any time for the change of IG police
Bureau Report
PESHAWAR: Ahead of the PTI’s planned long march to Islamabad on Sept 27, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi said on Wednesday that staging a protest was a legal and constitutional right.
Addressing a cabinet meeting in Peshawar, CM Afridi alleged that for the past three to four days, “plainclothes individuals” had been targeting PTI workers, office-bearers and elected representatives.
He alleged that an assassination attempt was made on Communications and Works Minister Shakil Khan, who also managed to evade an attempt to abduct him.
CM Afridi further alleged that Minister for Public Health Engineering Fazal Shakoor was abducted by plainclothes individuals, who also opened fire on his car.
“If a minister, a provincial cabinet member is not safe from these thugs, then what about the common man?” he asked. The chief minister emphasised that the treatment being meted out to provincial cabinet members was “unacceptable”.
“These people are afraid of the power of the people. No sane person would take such measures,” he asserted.
He also assailed PML-N’s Rana Sanaullah’s reported remarks labelling the people of KP as terrorists and Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz remarks regarding the terror threat from other provinces.
He said that from today, the province would be cut off from the rest of Pakistan and all routes to it would be closed.
“The rest of Pakistan will remain open, but no one will be able to enter or leave KP,” he said.
“What should we make of cutting KP off from the rest of Pakistan and closing all routes? Is there a conspiracy underway? Is an attempt being made to repeat the East Pakistan tragedy?” he asked.
“Whatever conspiracy is being hatched, and whoever is behind it, our clear message to them is: Pakistan belongs to us,” the chief minister said. He asserted that KP was and will continue to be a part of Pakistan.
“Goons dressed in plain clothes are intimidating and threatening our bureaucracy, police, deputy commissioners and district police officers,” he further alleged.
The chief minister advised that the bureaucracy, police, deputy commissioners and district police officers to not to be afraid.
![PESHAWAR, JAN 12 /DNA/ - Owing to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's precarious law and order circumstances, the provincial assembly has written a letter to the Peshawar corps commander seeking an in-camera briefing on ongoing operations and the security situation in the province. "The [special] Committee desires to receive a detailed briefing from Headquarters XI Corps, Peshawar, particularly in the context of the ongoing operations being conducted by the federal government and LEAs in the merged districts of KP," reads the letter issued by KP Assembly Deputy Secretary Tariq Noor, while referring to the Special Committee (on Security) constituted by the house. The committee features more than 40 members, including the leader of the house, the leader of the opposition and provincial ministers, along with parliamentary leaders of respective political parties. The letter, dated January 8, also points out that the committee has received detailed briefings from key stakeholders, including the chief secretary, the additional chief secretary, the IGP, and now seeks a briefing as part of the consultative process. Letter written by KP Assemblys deputy secretary to Headquarters XI Corps. — Reporter Letter written by KP Assembly's deputy secretary to Headquarters XI Corps. — Reporter The KP Assembly's request for a briefing from a senior army commander comes as the province, as stated by Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director-General Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry in a recent media briefing, accounted for nearly 71% of all the terrorist incidents in 2025. The overwhelming share of KP in facing terror incidents, as per the military's spokesperson, was due to a "politically conducive environment and the flourishing political-criminal-terror-nexus" in the province. Noting that the Pakistan-Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government in KP was resisting counterterrorism efforts at every forum — a claim denied by the PTI — Lt Gen Chaudhry highlighted that the law enforcement agencies (LEAs) carried out 75,175 intelligence-based operations (IBOs) across the country in 2025, of which 14,658 IBOs were conducted in KP. Out of the total 5,397 terrorism incidents reported nationwide in the previous year, as many as 3,811 incidents occurred in KP. The issue of terrorism and military operations has been a point of contention between the PTI's KP government and the Centre in recent times, where the former has time and again stressed a political solution and dialogue, whereas the latter has pressed on with taking action against the terrorists. This is also reflected by the KP Assembly's letter to the Headquarters XI Corps, Peshawar, which says that the Special Committee (on Security) "acknowledges the importance of security measures but considers that operation alone without broader political, social and developmental initiatives may not ensure suitable peace and stability and could risk further unrest in the province".](https://islamabadpost.com.pk/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/security-forces-218x150.jpg "Security Forces clear Indian-sponsored terrorist hideouts in Quetta’s Shaban area.")
