KP Assembly seeks Article 6 action against Punjab CM

• Passes resolution against Maryam Nawaz; terms her remarks about ‘security threats from neighbouring provinces’ harmful to national unity • PML-N claims her statement is being misread, misrepresented PESHAWAR: After suspending the day’s agenda, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly on Friday passed a majority resolution seeking action against Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz under Article 6 of the Constitution over her remarks that Punjab faced greater security threats from “neighbouring provinces than neighbouring countries” and that terrorism entered the province through its borders. The resolution, moved by Law Minister Aftab Alam Afridi during a sitting chaired by Speaker Babar Saleem Swati, said such statements could harm national unity, spread hatred among the provinces and undermine the federation.

It paid tribute to those who had laid down their lives for the country in the war against terrorism, saying the menace was a challenge for the entire country and could be defeated only through joint efforts. Earlier, Housing Minister Amjad Ali said the Punjab chief minister’s statement was not directed against PTI alone but against the entire province, calling it shameful and insulting and saying it reflected her arrogance. He said the Punjab chief minister had undermined the state’s narrative as the state had, for the past two years, been pointing fingers at India over terrorism in Pakistan. “She must apologise on the floor of the house for saying that Punjab faces threats not from India but from other provinces,” he said. Mr Ali also questioned who had trained and financially supported the Taliban, turned KP into a battlefield and supported the then Mujahideen for 45 years, adding that as soon as the US lost interest, the “Mujahideen” came to be called terrorists.…