ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday questioned the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government for its failure to set up the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) despite receiving Rs590 billion during the last fourteen years.
The PM, responding to a point of order raised by Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) member and former National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser, emphasized that under the NFC, an additional one percent share was also allocated for the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province just to augment its efforts against terrorism.
He stated the last NFC Award was agreed upon in 2010 by the government of PPP when terrorism was at its peak and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province suffered the most, followed by Balochistan and other provinces in the country.
The PM said that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa people had been the frontline soldiers against terrorism which would always be remembered.
He said the additional one percent share for the province in NFC was still intact and no other province including Balochistan got such funds nor objected to it despite massive sacrifices by their law enforcement agencies and people against the militancy and terrorism.
He told the NA that from 2010 till now, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province had also received Rs590 billion but could not yet establish the CTD for which the funds were mainly provided.
He said this also needs to be looked into as why the department is still incomplete there despite getting such massive funds.
Coming to another objection by the opposition member, the PM told the NA that the federal government had forwarded a panel of three persons, as per tradition, asking the government of KP to choose one officer for appointment as Chief Secretary which they have not decided so far.
He also offered to revise the panel if the KP government wished so but rubbished the allegation of any discrimination against the province.
