ISLAMABAD:
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi on Sunday urged the federal government to immediately take notice of the province’s growing problems, warning that growing public frustration over shortages and governance failures could eventually push people onto the streets.
The governor also criticized the PTI-led provincial administration, saying he had advised Chief Minister Sohail Afridi to focus on governance issues rather than Adiala Prison, where former ruling party chief Imran Khan remains incarcerated amid efforts to free him.
Kundi made the remarks while addressing the media in Islamabad after meeting KP Chief Minister Sohail Afridi at the Governor’s House in Peshawar earlier in the day.
Speaking to reporters, the governor warned that “the people of KP have reached a point where if they took to the streets tomorrow, no one could be held responsible.”
He called on the federal government to urgently address key issues facing the province, including the suspension of CNG supplies and restrictions on the movement of wheat.
“If Punjab has problems in supplying wheat to KP, then allow us passage to ensure supply from Sindh,” Kundi said, claiming that the provincial authorities had been instructed to transport wheat from Sindh through Balochistan and not through Punjab.
Maintaining that he was speaking as a “representative of the Centre”, Kundi said he had already engaged all stakeholders, including relevant provincial ministers, on the issue.
He urged Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to “take an interest” in the province’s problems, warning that deteriorating economic conditions and shortages could fuel public unrest.
“If you don’t give them roti and there is no one to listen to their problems, they will definitely take to the streets,” Kundi warned.
Despite political differences, the governor assured cooperation with the PTI-led provincial government “as long as it concerns peace, harmony and issues of the province”.
However, he also criticized the political priorities of the provincial leadership, saying he had advised CM Afridi to “focus on governance rather than Adiala”, while highlighting governance failures, security concerns and corruption issues in the province.
“Who will be responsible for governing the province if you sit outside Adiala five days a week?” asked Kundi, advising the chief minister to “hand over the Adiala issue to PTI and act as CM instead”.
In a lighter but pointed remark, Kundi joked that there should be “two PTIs – one to focus on governance and one for Adiala”.
Earlier in the day, Kundi met CM Afridi at the Governor’s House in Peshawar. After the meeting, the governor said in an article on
