ISLAMABAD(National Times)- Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday criticised PTI\u2019s governance in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, questioning whether the funds available to the now dysfunctional provincial government had been used transparently for the welfare and betterment of the people of the province.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
His remarks came during a meeting of the PML-N\u2019s parliamentary party from KP, held in Islamabad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Centre imposed governor\u2019s rule<\/u><\/a> and emergency in KP on Oct 11, citing<\/u><\/a> the provincial government\u2019s \u201cdeliberate disengagement\u201d from the fight against terrorism. The move had drawn criticism from the opposition, as well as Fazl<\/a>, who had made efforts to reduce tensions<\/u><\/a> between the federal and the KP governments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Taking aim at the PTI, Prime Minister Shehbaz said: \u201cThey have been in power in KP for 13 years. Over these 13 years, they have raised countless slogans, delivered fiery speeches, held long marches and sit-ins, and made numerous promises.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Recalling PTI\u2019s promises to build hundreds of dams, generate hundreds of megawatts of solar power, and establish hospitals, universities and schools across the province, the prime minister questioned whether any of these pledges had been fulfilled during the party\u2019s 13 years in power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHow many universities have been established there? How many new hospitals have been built? How much has the healthcare system improved? What facilities have actually been provided to the people? And how much corruption has taken place in the process?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The prime minister also questioned whether public funds had been utilised transparently for the welfare and betterment of the people of KP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cFrom Peshawar to Kohistan and Hazara, and across the entire southern region of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the majority of people would tell you that the PTI government has done very little, if anything, to address their basic needs,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The premier maintained that by 2017-18, terrorist activities in the province had been brought to an end to \u201ca considerable extent\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cKhyber Pakhtunkhwa was among the provinces that made the greatest sacrifices in the fight against terrorism,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The prime minister highlighted the heavy toll terrorism had taken on the country, saying around 80,000 people had lost their lives and Pakistan\u2019s economy had suffered losses estimated at Rs15,000 billion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He also praised former prime minister and PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif for his policies to combat terrorism following the 2014 Army Public School tragedy<\/a>, in which more than 140 students and teachers were killed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Turning to the PTI, the prime minister said the party had spent the past two and a half years engaged in long marches and protests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIn 2014, Chinese President Xi Jinping was scheduled to visit Pakistan. We made repeated efforts to persuade the party to call off its sit-in so that President Xi\u2019s visit could proceed as planned, but it refused. As a result, the visit was postponed<\/a>,\u201d he said, recalling the 2014 D-Chowk protest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He also criticised the PTI for allowing \u201cbrutal terrorists\u201d from Afghanistan to settle in Swat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThese were among the most painful and heartrending incidents that allowed terrorism to regain momentum,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The premier further said that thousands of civilians and security personnel had been martyred during the past two and a half years, adding that the PTI had been offered an opportunity to join hands with the federal government to combat terrorism<\/a>, as it had done in the past.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He also said that hundreds of billions had been allocated to the KP government under a special National Finance Commission (NFC) arrangement to combat terrorism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHow many Safe City projects have been initiated in KP? How much money has been spent on strengthening the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD)?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The prime minister elaborated that even if the PTI-led KP government had spent Rs80 billion on strengthening the police and other law enforcement agencies, they would have been better equipped to tackle security challenges. \u201cBut unfortunately, that did not happen,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He said the federal government had managed to put the national economy back on its feet, but acknowledged that the recovery process would be a long journey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The prime minister recalled that the government had formed a committee comprising members of the PPP and PML-N to hold talks with the PTI.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBoth sides held negotiations for 48 hours. I was told that the draft had been finalised and would be signed within minutes, following approval from then-chief minister Sohail Afridi. However, the approval never came, and we are still waiting,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Prime Minister Shehbaz said the federal government was compelled<\/a> to impose an emergency and governor\u2019s rule, as it had no other option.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He emphasised that the Centre\u2019s decision had been \u201ctimely\u201d, warning that the consequences would have been severe had it been delayed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The prime minister urged PML-N lawmakers from KP to prioritise the basic needs of the people in their constituencies, while putting long-term projects on hold for the time being.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cFocus on short-term welfare projects so that you can help turn people\u2019s fortunes around within the next six months to a year,\u201d he stressed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Meanwhile, the PTI hit back at the premier\u2019s criticism, challenging the federal government to account for its own record instead of blaming the party for KP\u2019s security and governance problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n PTI Central Information Secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram said the prime minister had no moral authority to lecture the party on democracy and governance, alleging that the present political setup had come into power through electoral manipulation and political arrangements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Waqas accused the federal government of shifting responsibility for the province\u2019s worsening security situation onto the PTI provincial government. He alleged that the federal government had failed to provide the province with necessary resources and equipment for counterterrorism operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He also accused the Centre of focusing on political opposition rather than addressing security and governance issues, alleging that PTI leaders and workers had faced raids, arrests and intimidation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He also challenged the premier to present a comprehensive account of his government\u2019s four-year performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Less than a week after emergency and governor\u2019s rule were imposed in the province, a joint sitting of parliament approved<\/a> the federal government\u2019s move amid a strong protest from the opposition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The events of Oct 11 followed weeks<\/u><\/a> of political tensions<\/u><\/a> between the Centre and the PTI \u2014 as well as negotiations<\/u><\/a> to bridge their differences \u2014 after the latter announced<\/u><\/a> a long march to Islamabad to demand the release of its jailed founder, Imran Khan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Federal ministers alleged<\/u><\/a> that the PTI-led government in KP had a \u201cnexus\u201d with terrorist groups and asserted that the province\u2019s security situation necessitated the imposition of emergency there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Centre and the PTI have been at odds over various issues, particularly on the counterterrorism policy, which was one of the main reasons<\/u><\/a> behind the breakdown<\/u><\/a> of their Oct 3 talks<\/u><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The PTI said it was being left out of security decisions concerning KP, which the Centre denied<\/u><\/a>. It also called for reviewing the counterterrorism policy, while the latter criticised<\/u><\/a> the KP government\u2019s efforts to combat terrorism in the province and objected to its stance<\/u><\/a> on dialogue with the Afghan Taliban.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" ISLAMABAD(National Times)- Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday criticised PTI\u2019s governance in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, questioning whether the funds available to the now dysfunctional provincial government had been used transparently for the welfare and betterment of the people of the province. His remarks came during a meeting of the PML-N\u2019s parliamentary party from KP, held in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":135726,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-135725","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest_news","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n<\/a>PTI hits back at PM\u2019s criticism<\/h2>\n\n\n\n