KP CM Afridi blames deteriorating security situation on ‘failed’ foreign policy

PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi on Saturday said that the deteriorating security situation in the country was the result of a failed foreign policy pursued over the last 22 years. “If a policy is not delivering results and is continuously failing, there is a need to change it,” he said during a visit to Kohat. The chief minister met the families of the police personnel and civilians martyred in the terrorist attack on the Police Lines and paid tribute to the police, counter-terrorism department, Special Branch, Rescue 1122, doctors, district administration and the people of Kohat for their courage and resilience, according to an official statement issued here. The chief minister said that the manner in which the security personnel and other responders confronted terrorists during an operation lasting nearly 20 hours was highly commendable.

Sympathises with families of police officials, civilians martyred in Kohat blast He said the police personnel and civilians who lost lives while confronting terrorists had made the ultimate sacrifice for the protection of the nation. Mr Afridi said Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had been fighting terrorism continuously since 2004, spanning nearly 22 years, during which the province had lost more than 80,000 lives. He said that the government that came to power in Afghanistan was welcomed with celebrations by the “bogus and imposed” Pakistani rulers but the situation later turned bad. “Our trade [with Afghanistan] has been disrupted; the border has been closed; economic activities in the tribal districts have come to a standstill, and terrorism in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa continues to rise,” he said. The chief minister said the closure of the Afghan border had caused Khyber Pakhtunkhwa losses of more than Rs8 billion during…