Governor Faisal Karim Kundi has chaired the KP Advisory Council first meeting and said, "Our fight is against terrorism." It was the first formal gathering of the 11-member body announced on Sunday to oversee key departments in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa after emergency measures and governor's rule.
Information Minister Attaullah Tarar told a press conference that the council would cover finance, education, energy, health, law, industries, mines and minerals, information and development. A secretariat will oversee administration in 12 districts facing serious security challenges and keep the federal government informed. The work sits under the governor and the chief secretary, after the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf provincial government was removed from office.
Who holds the portfolios
A federal notification names 11 members. Dr Syed Aamir Abdullah has education. Tariq Mahmood Pasha has finance, revenue, excise and taxation. Usman Saifullah Khan has energy, power, planning and development. Former Khyber Pakhtunkhwa advocate general Aamir Javed has law and parliamentary affairs, and Samar Haroon Bilour has information and broadcasting.
Dr Muhammad Irshad has industries and commerce. Maulana Muhammad Tayyab Qureshi has Auqaf and religious affairs. Retired Lieutenant General Dr Nigar Johar Khan has health. Kifayatullah Khan has home and tribal affairs, and Dr Sarfaraz Ali Shah has mines and minerals. Asif Rafiq Afridi has communications and works, local government, housing and transport.
On Monday at Governor House Peshawar, Kundi congratulated Bilour on taking charge as adviser for information and public relations. He hoped she would project a positive and soft image of the province, and said a zero-tolerance policy against corruption would be applied with no compromise. Bilour said she would honour the trust placed in her by the governor of KP. "Serving the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is an honor for me," she said. She spoke of her family's sacrifices and of her wish to see people in the province prosper.
The Centre's separate watch on KP
The KP Advisory Council first meeting is one part of a wider federal role. A day after the emergency and governor's rule, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday formed a committee to monitor governance, law and order and daily administration in the province, and to coordinate the Centre's response. Official sources said Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar will convene it. At that committee's first sitting, the sources said, members reviewed the situation and discussed law and order, administrative continuity and relief for people already affected.
The named members are Rana Sanaullah, adviser to the prime minister on political affairs; Law Minister Azam Tarar; Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal; Minister for Kashmir Affairs Amir Muqam; Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Tariq Fazal Chaudhry; and Education Minister Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui. Representatives of the Pakistan People's Party, the Balochistan Awami Party and the Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party are expected to join, taking the committee to 11. The prime minister was expected to consult allied parties on Tuesday.
The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz said cabinet members received reports from the governor and the Ministry of Interior. It said the governor wrote under Article 234 of the Constitution, the provision for alerting the federation to a constitutional breakdown in a province. The party's public note breaks off while referring to an absence, so the rest of that line is not shown. Opposition parties, lawyers and rights groups have condemned the intervention, including the removal of a PTI government that critics describe as elected with a two-thirds majority. The security situation has been cited as the reason for governor's rule.
Timeline: what has happened so far
- Sunday: The federal government announced an 11-member council headed by Governor Faisal Karim Kundi, shortly after emergency measures and governor's rule were imposed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and a secretariat for 12 districts with serious security challenges.
- Monday: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif formed a committee convened by Ishaq Dar to oversee the Centre's handling of the province. Sources said its first sitting discussed law and order, administrative continuity and relief.
- Monday: At Governor House Peshawar, Kundi congratulated Samar Haroon Bilour on her information role and said corruption would not be tolerated.
- Tuesday: The prime minister was expected to consult allied parties on the next steps.
Aasan alfaaz mein
Governor Faisal Karim Kundi ne council ki pehli meeting ki hai aur kaha hai ke larai dehshatgardi ke khilaf hai. Gyara rukn ab taleem, sehat, maal, qanoon aur doosre shobon ko dekhenge. Barah zila jin mein security ka masla bara hai, un ka kaam seedha naye secretariat ke paas hoga. Aam aadmi ke liye matlab yeh hai ke school, hospital aur local idaron ke faisle ab governor ke nizam ke tehat honge.
