KHYBER Pakhtunkhwa is once again paying a devastating price for terrorism. Police officers are being targeted, soldiers are losing their lives and civilians are being killed in mosques, markets and public spaces. Fear and uncertainty have returned to communities that have already endured decades of violence. Terrorism is no longer confined to a few remote border districts; its consequences are being felt across the province. At such a moment, the first responsibility of any government should be clear: protect citizens, restore the writ of the state, strengthen law-enforcement agencies and place security above partisan politics. Yet the political tragedy of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is that the distinction between governing and opposing has increasingly blurred. The provincial government has authority, resources, administrative machinery, a police force and a constitutional mandate. Yet much of its political energy remains focused on confrontation, protests and the campaign for Imran Khan’s release.

The demand for Imran Khan’s release is a political and legal matter and his supporters have every right to pursue it peacefully and constitutionally. But the responsibilities of an elected government extend far beyond the fate of one leader. A government exists not for one individual, one party or one movement, but for every citizen of the province. Counterterrorism cannot succeed without meaningful cooperation between the........

© Pakistan Observer