Khawaja Asif calls K-P security crisis ‘not politics but terrorism’

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Monday accused the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) of pursuing negotiations with the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), saying the party’s policy had contributed to the security crisis in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P).

In a detailed statement on X, Asif said the issue between the presidency and the K-P government was “not politics but terrorism”, while questioning the provincial government’s handling of police capacity, counterterrorism infrastructure and security funds.

He said the PTI had exercised political control or influence in K-P for around 13 years and criticised its leadership for advocating negotiations with the TTP.

“Imran Khan has always had a soft corner for TTP, and the party’s thinking has been more aligned with the idea of negotiations with terrorists rather than the state’s policy of eliminating terrorism,” Asif said.

He claimed that after becoming prime minister, Imran had said he knew how to end terrorism in K-P and called for talks with terrorists.

Asif also criticised the role of former Inter-Services Intelligence chief General Faiz Hameed, alleging that he had been used to advance the talks agenda.

Hameed was sentenced to 14 years in prison by a military court in December 2025 on charges including violation of state secrets and interfering in politics.

The defence minister blamed the PTI founder for using the state apparatus to pursue talks with the TTP and its allies.

“The full price of this policy has been paid by K-P and Pakistan, yet even today, the same party is talking about negotiations and engagement with TTP and Tehreek-e-Taliban Afghanistan (TTA).”

He reiterated the military’s stated policy towards terrorism, saying, “Terrorists will be eliminated.”

Asif said the state’s current policy was to eliminate terrorists rather than negotiate with them. He also questioned PTI criticism of military operations, asking whether the army was not fighting terrorism and who else was doing so.

“You say this is a war for dollars. Tell us, how many billions of dollars has America provided to Pakistan in the past few years for the war against terrorism and security?” he asked.

The minister also referred to reported drone attacks in Kohat and Peshawar, as well as attacks by the TTA on security posts. He questioned why the military should not use drones for defence when militants were using them.

K-P security crisis

Asif said official K-P data showed that the province had witnessed around 6,200 terrorism incidents and 1,200 deaths over the past two years, including 37 suicide attacks allegedly carried out by Afghan nationals. “Just this year, 14 suicide attacks have already occurred, the majority by Afghan nationals,” he added.

He questioned the deployment and capacity of the provincial police, saying the K-P police force had around 125,000 personnel, of whom about 13,000 were deployed on VIP security duties. He said around 17,000 posts remained vacant despite the province’s frontline role in counterterrorism.

Asif also criticised the functioning of the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) in the merged districts, claiming that it had only 17 bulletproof vehicles and around 3,300 personnel, most of whom were contract employees. “Only 25 are permanent, while the rest are contract employees,” the defence minister said.

He also questioned PTI leaders’ engagement with the security situation, asking whether they had personally visited military checkpoints, met families of soldiers martyred in the fight against terrorism, reviewed the functioning of courts and police stations in the merged districts or regularly attended apex committee meetings on security.

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He pointed to more than 3,000 pending prosecution cases in K-P and questioned why, despite the large number of cases, no terrorist had been executed or punished in the province.

According to Asif, the state’s policy in areas affected by militancy was based on a “Hold, Build and Transfer” model — first securing an area, then rebuilding infrastructure and institutions, and finally handing control to the civilian administration. He demanded that the PTI leadership explain its policy for ending terrorism.

Asif also alleged that the provincial police had sought Rs42 billion for the reconstruction and fortification of police checkpoints but had received only Rs1.2 billion, or 2.8%, from the K-P government. “Papers claim that Rs42 billion were spent, while in reality, this amount was embezzled,” he stated.

Federal funds

Addressing PTI claims that K-P had been denied adequate financial resources by the federal government, Asif said the province had received around Rs8.5 trillion in federal assistance between July 2010 and 2025. “There is no shortage of funds, but corruption and weak governance diminish their impact,” the minister said.

According to figures cited by Asif, the amount included Rs5.867 trillion transferred under the Seventh National Finance Commission (NFC) Award between 2010 and 2025.

Read More: K-P received Rs34.88tr in federal funds over past five years

He said Rs705 billion had been provided under the 1% share of the divisible pool allocated for the war against terrorism. For the merged districts, Rs704 billion had been disbursed since 2019, he added.

The figures also included around Rs482.78 billion in direct transfers, including royalties and gas development surcharge; Rs481.43 billion spent under the Benazir Income Support Programme in K-P between 2016 and 2025; and Rs117.166 billion in assistance for internally displaced persons.

He added that the province had received Rs46.44 billion under the latest NFC payment issued on December 17, 2025.