Islamabad:
As the tide apparently turned after the verdict on reserved seats, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi is turned into action, which intensified the efforts to put the PTI-led government into the province.
The move is part of a larger plan green -lit by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who had reportedly handed over the Kundi reins to orchestrate a political shaker in the province.
The reserved seat’s decision has given the federal coalition a foot in the door of the KP assembly, which is passionate about speculation that a non-confidence to be far away.
Within the government ranks, there is a growing consensus that PTI’s decade-long grip on Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa has been running its course and that recent development has further postponed its inability to secure public security.
In the midst of this background, Governor Kundi met with PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Friday to take status over the developing political and security landscape.
During the meeting, the Governor Bilawal informed the recent development, including his commitment with legislators from coalition parties and the implications of the allocation of reserved seats.
The deteriorating law and order situation, especially in the southern districts of KP, highlighted prominently in their discussions.
Kundi assessed the PPP chairman for growing security concerns and the administrative obstacles confronted in the province.
He also provided a detailed account of the recent human tragedy in SWAT, where flash floods claimed more lives and criticized the provincial government’s response as grossly inadequate.
With reference to relief activities, the governor said, “According to your directions, I visited the affected families in Daska and Rustam, Marran”.
Al Jazeera interview
Former Foreign Minister and PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari warned in an interview with Al Jazeera that India’s increasingly aggressive anti-Pakistan narrative posed a threat not only to Pakistan but to India himself.
He argued that New Delhi was trying to globalize a hostile ideology that risked destabilizing the region. “This new ideology is dangerous to both the Pakistani and the Indian people,” he said.
Bilawal, who rejected allegations of Pakistan’s commitment to terrorist incidents across the border, added, “Pakistan was not involved in the terrorist attacks in India”.
He said the country itself was facing rising incidents with terrorism on a daily basis.
Hafiz Saeed, Masood Azhar
Bilawal also signaled Islamabad’s openness to consider handing out Laskhar-e-Taiba (Light) Chief Hafiz Saeed and Jaish-E-Muhammad (Jem) Chief Masood Azhar, provided India is working together to facilitate litigation.
“As part of a comprehensive dialogue with Pakistan, where terrorism is one of the questions we are discussing, I’m sure Pakistan would not be against any of these things.”
According to Pakistan’s National Counter Terrorism Authority (NACTA), both light and jem are banned organizations. Saeed is currently serving a 33-year-old judgment in Pakistan for terrorist financing, while Azhar has also been described by authorities.
Bilawal elaborated that existing lawsuits against the two persons have so far focused on charges filed within Pakistan’s jurisdiction.
However, he noted that the prosecutor’s office of cross -border terrorism remained a challenge due to India’s reluctance to follow the basic procedural requirements.
“India refuses to comply with certain basic elements that require conviction to take place,” he explained.
“It is important to present evidence within these courts, for people to come from India to testify, to put up with what the counterparts will be. If India is willing to be cooperative in this process, I am sure there will be no obstacle in extraditing any person who is concerned.”
The PPP leader also strongly pushed back to India’s attitude on cross-border terrorism and characterized it as a dangerous shift in regional norms.
“The new normal or the new abnormal that India would like to impose on the subcontinent – is that any terrorist attack in India means war with Pakistan,” Bilawal said.
“This does not serve Pakistan’s interests and it does not serve India’s interests.”
He continued to warn that this escalating logic placed fate for almost two billion people in the hands of non-state actors.
“Two nuclear-armed countries have come to the point that they have reduced the threshold of military conflict-to this level, which actually means we are leaving fate of 1.7 billion people who are not in the hands of the Pakistani or the Indian government, but to nameless, faceless non-state actors.”
When Bilawal was asked specifically about the current status of Saeed and Azhar, Bilawal clarified: “It is actually not correct that Hafiz Saeed is a free man; he is in custody of the Pakistani state.”
He added that Azhar’s residence remains unclear, but emphasized that Islamabad believes he is outside the country. “It’s our faith that he is in Afghanistan,” he said.
“If and when the Indian government shares information that he is on Pakistani soil, we will be more than happy to arrest him.”
