PESHAWAR: Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Muhammad Sohail Afridi has strongly condemned the meeting convened by the Governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, describing it as deeply regrettable and unconstitutional.
Addressing a meeting of the Provincial Cabinet, the Chief Minister said the province has a duly elected government with a two-thirds majority, while the Provincial Assembly, Cabinet and government are fully functional and firmly in place.
He said the Governor’s summoning of the Chief Secretary and Inspector General of Police and convening of such a meeting was an assault on the Constitution and democratic order.
“In the presence of a provincial government enjoying a two-thirds majority, convening such a meeting is unacceptable.”
The Chief Minister said the Constitution provides a clear mechanism for removing a sitting Chief Minister through a vote of no-confidence. “If anyone has an issue with the Chief Minister, the constitutional procedure must be followed.”
“The objective behind these unconstitutional activities is to provoke the Provincial Government and compel it to react in a manner that could further destabilise the situation,” he said. “We will remain peaceful and will speak only within the framework of the Constitution and the law.”
He said that the Pakistan People’s Party had played a wrong role in the past as well, and its current actions appeared to be an attempt to create circumstances similar to those that led to another East Pakistan.
The party that raises the slogan of democracy had, in the past, separated Bangladesh from Pakistan for its personal interests, Chief Minister Sohail Afridi said. Prioritising personal interests over national interests has remained the PPP’s practice. “We will not allow any conspiracy against the unity and integrity of Pakistan to succeed,” he said.
The Chief Minister said the security situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had continued to deteriorate following the re-settling of terrorists in the province by the federal government. “Fourteen thousand intelligence-based operations and 22 major military operations over 22 years have not delivered sustainable peace,” he said.
“After the loss of 80,000 precious lives, the continued absence of lasting peace is a failure of state policy.” He said the federal government must reconsider its counter-terrorism approach if it was genuinely committed to restoring sustainable peace.
“The argument that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is not cooperating is not acceptable. Balochistan is also cooperating with the federal government, yet peace has not been achieved there either. The current federal policy is therefore proving ineffective in both provinces.”
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026
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