Bilawal says KP governor's rule could end if opposition engages with Centre on counterterrorism

PPP Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said on Sunday that if the opposition was willing to fight against terrorism and engage with the Centre on a plan, governor’s rule and emergency imposed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa could end. He made these remarks while speaking to the media in Karachi, where he was visiting the Karsaz Monument on the 19th anniversary of the Karsaz bombing . His statement comes a week after the Centre imposed governor’s rule and emergency in KP, citing the provincial government’s “deliberate disengagement” from the fight against terrorism. The move also followed a mobilisation drive and protest march by the PTI, which was in power in KP and in opposition in the Centre, to demand the release of its jailed founder, Imran Khan.

“If they really want to fight terrorists, and if they want that emergency and governor’s rule in KP to end, they should engage with the federal government and politicians and discuss a united policy regarding the fight against terrorism,” Bilawal said on Sunday, referring to the PTI-led opposition. He added that if the opposition was ready to fight terrorism and “we agree on a plan” to do so, the emergency and governor’s rule in KP could end. “If the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister (Sohail Afridi) is a coward, if he is not ready to defend his homeland, if he is not ready to fight those terrorists, then the PPP is ready to fight them,” Bilawal said. “That is why we supported the government’s decision to impose governor’s rule in KP. ” He stressed that the party would “join forces with everyone to fight these terrorists”. In his media talk, the Bhutto scion said the country had reached a point where “terrorist attacks are taking place from Khyber to Khuzdar”. He regretted that when the Taliban came to power in Kabul in 2021, the…