Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday urged Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz leaders in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to put short-term public relief ahead of long-term schemes, telling them to suspend lengthy projects and act where people feel change quickly.
Speaking to the party's KP parliamentary group, he said small steps on law and order, school building and hospital medicines would matter more to residents he described as deprived for 13 years under Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf rule. "Long-term projects should be suspended," he said, while pressing for measures that bring immediate relief in a province under governor's rule since October 11.
Short-term relief and criticism of PTI
The premier argued that slogans and speeches had not matched delivery. He asked how many development schemes were finished, whether public money was used carefully, and what was done against corruption. He also questioned health facilities, medicine supply and treatment, and the transparency of provincial spending during PTI's long tenure in the province.
He recalled that after the 2013 general elections, then prime minister Nawaz Sharif had let the majority party in KP form the government, and said the PML-N had helped democratic practice there. Against that backdrop, he said citizens still lacked basic services despite claims of reform in education and health, and that political energy had gone into protests and sit-ins rather than socio-economic needs.
He pointed to the 2010 National Finance Commission Award, agreed under then prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani with all chief ministers, which gave KP a one per cent financial share. He said the province had received about Rs800 billion from that arrangement over the years, and asked how much of it strengthened the Counter-Terrorism Department and local police. About 8,000 police posts in the province remain vacant, he said; better use of those funds, he argued, would have left the force better able to face security threats.
Governor's rule and failed talks
Defending the federal move, Mr Sharif said the Centre first tried negotiation. Committees with Pakistan Peoples Party and PML-N members talked with PTI for 48 hours. He said a draft was ready but approval never came; he named Sohail Afridi as delaying that step. Governor's rule and emergency measures followed on October 11, after the Centre cited gaps in provincial counterterrorism work.
Under the current arrangement, KP Governor Faisal Karim Kundi, a PPP leader, runs provincial government functions for the federation with an 11-member advisory council, while Parliament handles the assembly's law-making role. The prime minister called the step necessary to protect people, the country, the economy and society, warning that delay could have deepened harm. "We had no other option but to save the country, the economy, the society, and KP," he said.
Security, energy relief and next steps
He paid tribute to KP residents, police, the armed forces and political figures for sacrifices against militancy. He said terrorism was cleared from the province in 2017–18 under Nawaz Sharif's leadership, but alleged that militants were brought back from Afghanistan and resettled in 2019 and 2020, renewing damage. He put national losses at about 80,000 lives and between $150 billion and $200 billion, and recalled the Army Public School attack in Peshawar as a lasting wound.
On daily costs, he said Gulf-region crises had pushed global energy prices up, yet petrol and diesel supplies across Pakistan had been kept steady. A targeted fuel subsidy launched in February, with a Rs75 billion allocation, had sent relief vouchers to about 130 million citizens, he added. He also spoke of Daanish Schools planned or under way in remote districts including Chitral, Haripur, Mansehra, Bajaur and Shangla, with more campuses to be announced later this year, and said the PML-N would keep working for KP's development and welfare. Minister for Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan Amir Muqam told the same gathering that the party retained strong public support in the province.
Timeline: what has happened so far
- 2010: National Finance Commission Award gives KP a one per cent share; the prime minister says about Rs800 billion has accrued since.
- 2017–18: Mr Sharif says terrorism was eliminated from KP through national and institutional efforts under Nawaz Sharif.
- 2019–20: He alleges militants were brought back from Afghanistan and resettled, and that violence rose again.
- February (this year): Federal targeted fuel subsidy of Rs75 billion begins; he says about 130 million citizens received vouchers.
- October 11, 2026: Federal government imposes governor's rule and emergency in KP after talks with PTI stall.
- October 31, 2026: PM Shehbaz tells a PML-N KP parliamentary meeting to suspend long-term projects and prioritise short-term relief.
Aasan alfaaz mein
Wazir-e-Azam Shehbaz Sharif ne kaha hai ke Khyber Pakhtunkhwa mein lambay projects rok kar ab foran faida denay wale kaam pehle kiye jayein. School, hospital ki dawaiyan aur qanoon-o-tarteeb jaise chhote qadam unke nazdeek logon ke liye zyada zaroori hain. Province 11 October se governor ke rule mein hai, aur unhone kaha ke PTI se baat cheet ke baad yeh qadam logon aur mulk ki hifazat ke liye lia gaya. Aam shehri ke liye matlab yeh hai ke hukumat ka zor ab jaldi nazar aane wali sahoolat aur security par hone wala hai.
