Peshawar, January 7, 2026: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi on Wednesday called for the inclusion of the provincial government in the formulation of counter-terrorism policies, stressing that lasting peace could only be achieved through joint decision-making and consultation with local stakeholders.
Addressing a convocation at Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Women University in Peshawar, the chief minister said, “If you really want to eliminate terrorism, then come and formulate the policy with us.” He emphasized that counter-terrorism operations should be conducted after taking the nation into confidence, warning that “closed-door decisions” had once again made life difficult for the people of the province.
His remarks came a day after Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director-General Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry strongly criticised the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leadership in KP, holding it responsible for the rise in terrorist incidents in the province.
CM Afridi said KP had restored peace in the past after immense sacrifices, adding that the province had repeatedly borne the brunt of the war on terror and would continue to do so for Pakistan. However, he expressed dissatisfaction with the compensation announced by the federal government for people whose homes were destroyed during counter-terrorism operations.
Calling for a shift in the existing counter-terrorism approach, the PTI-backed chief minister said a new policy must be formulated in consultation with the KP government, tribal elders and other relevant stakeholders.
According to an annual report by the Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS), KP witnessed the sharpest surge in violence, with fatalities rising from 1,620 in 2024 to 2,331 in 2025 — an increase of more than 40 percent year-on-year.
A day earlier, ISPR DG Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry had stated that nearly 71 percent of terrorist incidents reported in 2025 occurred in KP, attributing the trend to what he described as a “politically conducive environment and a flourishing political-criminal-terror nexus” in the province. He had criticised the KP chief minister’s stance on talks, dismissed calls for Afghan security guarantees, and questioned opposition to counter-terrorism operations.
The military spokesperson also linked governance issues, including illegal mining and the proliferation of illegal weapons in KP, to the rise in terrorism, maintaining that counter-terrorism required firm state action rather than political ambiguity.
