Jamiat Urvila-e-Islam-Fazl (Jui-F) Chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman condemned Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) the government’s proposed mines and minerals on Wednesday, and called it “unacceptable” and a violation of provincial autonomy.

When he spoke at a press conference in Peshawar, FAZL accused both the federal government and “international powers” of trying to take control of Pakistan’s natural resources. He warned that if “sensible decisions” were not made, his party would take the streets in protest.

“This legislation undermines the 18th amendment and violates the rights of the provincial,” Fazl said. “We will not allow the center or foreign power to claim our resources.”

He claimed that the federal government had devised alternative legal mechanisms to bypass constitutional protection measures and pressed provinces to form new authorities to manage their mineral wealth.

“If a country wants to invest, it should turn to the provincial government through the center and respect local conditions,” he added.

The proposed bill introduced by the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-E-Insaf (PTI) in the KP assembly has presented criticism from opposition parties and within PTI itself. Critics claim that the law risks centralizing control over KP’s resources and weakening of the provincial authority.

The KP government has defended the bill and says it aims to regulate investment, limit illegal mining and attract foreign interest in the province’s mineral sector.

FAZL also commented on the security situation in KP and called on the government to participate in dialogue with Afghanistan and establish a clear policy for repatriation and registration of Afghan refugees.

His comments followed reports that PTI founder Imran Khan, currently in prison, had instructed his party not to approve the legislation without his consultation with Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur and other political leaders.