ISLAMABAD:
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi on Sunday urged the federal government to take immediate notice of the province’s growing problems, warning that growing public frustration over shortages and government failures could eventually push people onto the streets.
The governor also took a 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 former ruling party chief Imran Khan remains incarcerated amid efforts to free him.
Kundi made the remarks while addressing the media in Islamabad after meeting KP Chief Minister Sohail Afridi at the Governor House in Peshawar earlier in the day.
Speaking to reporters, the governor warned that “the people of KP have reached a point where no one can be held responsible if they take to the streets tomorrow”.
He called on the federal government to urgently address key issues facing the province, particularly the suspension of CNG supply and restrictions on wheat movements.
“If Punjab has problem in supplying wheat to KP, then allow us passage to ensure supply from Sindh,” Kundi said, claiming that the 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, in the matter.
He called on Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to “take an interest” in the province’s problems and warned that worsening economic conditions and shortages could fuel public unrest.
“When you don’t give them roti and there is no one to listen to their problems, they will definitely take to the streets,” warned Kundi.
Despite political differences, the governor assured cooperation with the PTI-led provincial government “as long as it is about peace, harmony and issues in the province”.
However, he also criticized the provincial leadership’s political priorities, saying he had advised CM Afridi to “focus on governance instead of Adiala”, while pointing to governance failures, security issues and corruption issues in the province.
“Who will be in charge of running the province if you sit outside Adiala for five days a week?” asked Kundi, advising the chief minister to “hand over the Adiala issue to PTI and act as CM instead”.
On a lighter but pointed note, Kundi said 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. After the meeting, the governor said in a statement on X that he had “highlighted key governance deficiencies affecting the people of KP, including disruptions to essential utilities and public relief systems”.
