At a time when Pakistan needs unity, discipline and clarity against terrorism, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi has chosen a deeply irresponsible path. His visit to Bannu should have been a moment of grief, solidarity and resolve after 15 police personnel were martyred in a suicide attack on the Fateh Khel police post. Instead, his remarks shifted attention from the terrorists who carried out the assault to political grievance and institutional blame. This is not leadership. It is division at the worst possible hour.
The people of KP have indeed suffered immensely in the war against terrorism. Its police, soldiers and civilians have paid a price few others can fully understand. Their sacrifices deserve honour, support and seriousness. But that is precisely why political leaders must speak with care when blood has just been spilled. To frame the crisis as the result of “decisions behind closed doors” and “imposed policies” while the province is burying its police martyrs is a provocation.
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Pakistan is facing a renewed terrorist threat from groups using Afghan soil and targeting the state with increasing sophistication. The Bannu attack was not an ordinary law and order incident. It was a coordinated assault involving an explosives-laden vehicle, heavy weapons and drones. This is the moment for the federation, the province, the police, the military and the public to pull in one direction. Instead, PTI’s provincial leadership appears determined to pull the country into another cycle of suspicion and internal confrontation.
The Line Between Policy Concerns and Mistrust
There is a difference between raising policy concerns and sowing mistrust during a national security crisis. The chief minister crossed that line. Blaming the government and the armed forces in the aftermath of a terrorist attack does nothing to strengthen KP’s security. It emboldens enemies who depend precisely on such fractures.
Running Out of Time
The KP government’s duty is clear: support the police, coordinate with federal institutions, protect citizens and help build national resolve. Opposition for the sake of opposition may be politics in ordinary times. In the face of terrorism, it becomes something far darker.
