Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Monday accused the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) of pursuing negotiations with the Tehreek-e-Taliban ...
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.
ریاست اور خیبر پختونخوا کا مسئلہ سیاست نہیں بلکہ دہشت گردی ہے۔ کچھ حقائق دیکھنا ضروری ہے
- صوبے کا گزشتہ دو سال کا ڈیٹا: تقریباً 6,200 دہشت گردی کے واقعات، 1,200 شہادتیں اور افغان شہریوں کی جانب سے 37 خودکش حملے کیے گئے۔ صرف رواں سال 14 خودکش حملے ہو چکے ہیں، جن میں اکثریت…
— Khawaja M. Asif (@KhawajaMAsif) October 5, 2026
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.
Also Read: Govt has kept 'all doors of dialogue open' with opposition: parliamentary secretary
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.
فنڈز کی کمی نہیں، مگر کرپشن اور کمزور طرزِ حکمرانی ان کے اثرات کو کم کر دیتے ہیں
- ساتواں این ایف سی ایوارڈ (2010 تا 2025):5,867 ارب روپے
- دہشت گردی کے خلاف جنگ (قابلِ تقسیم پول کا 1 فیصد):705 ارب روپے
- ضم شدہ اضلاع (2019 سے): 704 ارب روپے
- براہِ راست منتقلیاں (رائلٹیز، جی…
— Khawaja M. Asif (@KhawajaMAsif) October 5, 2026
K-P government rejects criticism
Provincial Finance Adviser Muzammil Aslam on Monday rejected the impression that the K-P government was neglecting security or failing to allocate adequate resources to the police and other institutions, saying the province had been prioritising spending on law and order since February 2024.
“The current government of K-P has been allocating resources on a priority basis to police, law and order, judiciary, and temporarily displaced persons (TDPs) since February 2024,” he said in a post shared by the K-P government on X.
Aslam said K-P was fighting the war against terrorism alongside the federal government and armed forces, while bearing a “major burden of expenses” related to containing the threat.
He acknowledged that terrorism remained a major issue for the province but highlighted K-P’s performance on conventional crime, saying its police had a better record than Punjab in cases involving robbery, kidnapping, mobile phone theft and vehicle theft.
*مشیر خزانہ خیبرپختونخوا مزمل اسلم کا خیبرپختونخوا کے سیکورٹی بجٹ پر ردعمل*
خیبرپختونخوا کی موجودہ حکومت فروری 2024 سے پولیس، لاء اینڈ آرڈر، عدلیہ اور ٹی ڈی پیز پر ترجیحی بنیادوں پر وسائل خرچ کر رہی ہے۔ مزمل اسلم
خیبرپختونخوا پولیس کا جرائم ریکارڈ (ڈکیتی، اغواکاری، موبائل و… pic.twitter.com/VbdVBgc4bc
— Government of KP (@GovernmentKP) October 5, 2026
Aslam said the province had been spending beyond its available resources on police infrastructure in the merged districts, arguing that K-P itself was bearing a substantial share of the financial burden of counterterrorism.
The finance adviser said the police budget had increased from Rs121 billion in 2024-25 to Rs173.8 billion in the 2026-27 budget, representing a 43.6% increase.
He said the allocation for purchasing weapons for the police had also risen from Rs3.3 billion to Rs14.5 billion. “The total police budget in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa is 191 billion rupees, the highest budget rate in all of Pakistan,” he said in the social media post.
Aslam also compared K-P’s spending with that of other provinces, saying the provincial government was allocating substantial resources to the police.
He disputed claims that K-P was not spending sufficiently on the judiciary, saying the province had allocated Rs6 billion for judicial development, compared with Rs5.2 billion in Punjab, Rs2 billion in Sindh and Rs900 million in Balochistan.
He said K-P had been waiting for a “fair share for the merged districts” under the National Finance Commission (NFC) for the past eight years and had been meeting the related expenditure from its own resources.
Aslam said financial assistance for temporarily displaced persons remained a major point of disagreement between the federal and provincial governments.
He claimed that the federal government had stopped making payments for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in 2022 and said the Centre owed K-P Rs54 billion in outstanding TDP payments.
He said the province had received no payment against the outstanding amount and was instead bearing the full cost from its own resources.
The finance adviser said the federal government’s financial obligations towards K-P should be taken into account when assessing the province’s spending on security and other sectors.
Earlier in the day, PTI-backed K-P Assembly Speaker Babar Saleem Swati also responded to concerns raised by the federal government over the security situation in the province, saying the assembly had already initiated a parliamentary process to address the issue.
He said the legislature had convened a “peace jirga”, during which all political parties adopted a joint declaration to constitute a “Special Committee on Security”.
“The Committee has already received detailed briefings, in the presence of the parliamentary leaders of all political parties, from the Inspector General of Police, Counter Terrorism Department (CTD), Additional Chief Secretary Home, Home Department, Chief Secretary, and other relevant provincial institutions,” he said.
Swati said federal leaders had also been informed about the parliamentary process.
“Letters were sent to the Hon'ble Prime Minister of Pakistan, the Chairman of the Senate, the Speaker of the National Assembly and the Federal Minister for Interior, informing them that the Assembly was moving towards comprehensive parliamentary recommendations on the security situation,” he said.
He added that only one major stakeholder’s briefing remained — that of the Corps Commander Peshawar.
The speaker said he had spoken to the military leader, who had assured him of his participation in a meeting of the special committee, which had yet to take place.
“I am therefore going to summon another meeting of the Special Committee,” he said, adding that he hoped to bring all relevant authorities and institutions to the same table to present their positions on the “critical” matter.
In view of the concerns being expressed by the Federal Government regarding the prevailing law and order situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, it is important to first look at the comprehensive parliamentary process that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly has already initiated.
The… pic.twitter.com/nCeLxbrEfL
— Babar Saleem Swati (@BabarSaleemSwat) October 5, 2026
Swati said the meeting would discuss all facts that had been heard, observed and emerged during the committee’s proceedings.
He urged relevant institutions to present their “perspectives, facts and responsibilities” at the upcoming meeting, saying this was necessary for the committee to formulate its recommendations.
“These recommendations will then be presented before the Assembly and, after approval, forwarded to both the Provincial and Federal Governments so that responsibilities, policy direction and practical measures are clearly defined.”
The speaker said the people of K-P wanted peace and that all stakeholders needed to play their part in achieving a sustainable solution.
He also avoided assigning blame for the deteriorating security situation.
“Our objective is not to assign blame. Our objective is to bring the facts to the table, clearly identify the responsibilities of the relevant institutions, and work collectively towards implementing the National Action Plan and finding a path to lasting peace,” Swati said.
He said maintaining peace was a collective responsibility and assured that the provincial assembly would continue to support efforts to restore peace.
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