ISLAMABAD:
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi on Sunday urged the federal government to take immediate notice of the province’s mounting problems, warning that growing public frustration over shortages and governance failures could eventually push people onto the streets.
The governor also took a pointed swipe at the PTI-led provincial administration, saying he had advised Chief Minister Sohail Afridi to focus on governance issues rather than Adiala Jail, where the former ruling party’s chief, Imran Khan, remains incarcerated amid efforts to free him.
Kundi made the remarks while speaking to the media in Islamabad after meeting K-P Chief Minister Sohail Afridi at the Governor House in Peshawar earlier in the day.
Speaking to reporters, the governor warned that the “people of K-P have reached a point where if they take to the streets tomorrow, nobody could be held responsible for it”.
He called on the federal government to urgently address key issues confronting the province, particularly the suspension of CNG supply and restrictions on wheat movement.
“If Punjab has issues with supplying wheat to K-P, then allow us passage to ensure supply from Sindh,” Kundi said, claiming that provincial authorities had been instructed to transport wheat from Sindh via Balochistan and not through Punjab.
Maintaining that he was speaking as a “representative of the Centre,” Kundi said he had already engaged all stakeholders, including relevant provincial ministers, on the matter.
He urged Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to “take interest” in the province’s problems, warning that worsening economic conditions and shortages could fuel public unrest.
“When you do not give them roti, and there is no one to listen to their problems, they will certainly take to the streets,” Kundi warned.
Despite political differences, the governor assured cooperation with the PTI-led provincial government “as long as it’s about the peace, harmony and issues of the province”.
However, he also criticised the provincial leadership’s political priorities, saying he had advised CM Afridi to “focus on the governance, rather than Adiala,” while pointing to governance failures, security concerns and corruption issues in the province.
“Who will be responsible for governing the province if you are sitting outside Adiala for five days of the week?” Kundi asked, advising the chief minister to “hand over the Adiala issue to PTI and act as the CM instead”.
In a lighter but pointed remark, Kundi quipped that there should be “two PTIs – one to focus on governance and one for Adiala”.
Earlier in the day, Kundi met CM Afridi at the Governor’s House in Peshawar. Following the meeting, the governor said in a post on X that he had “highlighted key governance gaps affecting people of K-P, including disruptions in essential supplies and public relief systems”.
