Federal Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Dr Tariq Fazal Chaudhry has said that approximately Rs800 billion was provided to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government over the past ten years, but an account of how the funds were used has yet to be provided.
He said the federal government had developed a three-phase strategy to eliminate terrorism in the province and establish lasting peace.
Speaking on a private television programme, Tariq Fazal Chaudhry said the federal government had extended every possible assistance to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government to eliminate terrorism, promote development in the province and enhance the capacity of law enforcement agencies.
He said approximately Rs800 billion had been provided to the province over the past decade for the fight against terrorism, particularly to equip the police with modern equipment and weapons. However, he said, proper accounts of how the money was spent were not available.
The federal minister said the funds had been deposited in Account No. 1 of the provincial government, but details of their utilisation had not been disclosed.
He siad that despite receiving financial resources, the provincial government had failed to provide the required cooperation in the fight against terrorism while continuing to complain that the federal government was not providing financial assistance.
Tariq Fazal Chaudhry said terrorists in the affected areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa blend into the general population and seek shelter among local residents. In such circumstances, he said, cooperation from the civil administration and provincial government was crucial for effective action against terrorists.
He said the federal government had held negotiations with the provincial government for several weeks to persuade it to work jointly with the centre to eliminate terrorism, but, according to him, the required cooperation was not forthcoming.
The federal minister said the decision to eliminate terrorism had been finalised and that extraordinary circumstances had necessitated extraordinary measures.
He said imposing an emergency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had not been the federal government’s first priority, but circumstances had compelled it to take this step.
He added that if the provincial government had cooperated with the federal government, the centre would not have needed to assume this responsibility itself.
