Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Provincial Government Suspended; 11-Member Advisory Council Formed to Aid Governor as Federal Ministers Cite Security Failures and Militant Nexus
PESHAWAR: The federal government has stopped the functioning of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provincial setup and formed an 11-member advisory council to help the governor in the administration.
The new administrative structure was announced by the federal ministers Azam Nazeer Tarar, Attaullah Tarar, Mohsin Naqvi, and Samar Haroon Bilour during a press conference at Islamabad on Thursday. The official notification says that governor of the KP will discharge its provincial governance duties on behalf of the federal government, under the guidance of the newly appointed advisory council.
The Advisory Council and Federal Briefing were the key highlights.
Members of the Advisory Council: Tariq Mahmood Pasha, Dr. Amir Abdullah, Lt Gen (Retd) Nigar Johar, Samar Bilour, Dr. Sarfraz Ali, Aamir Javed, Dr. M. Arshad, Kifayatullah, Tayyab Qureshi, Usman Saifullah Khan and Asif Rafiq. Besides, Sanaullah Advocate has been appointed as an Advocate General of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
At the press briefing, Federal Information Minister Attaullah Tarar asserted that the erstwhile PTI-led provincial government had an unholy deal with the extremist groups as some police posts in the province had been turned over to militants through a “power-sharing” formula. According to the confidential reports, he said, the security picture was a grim one in which districts were essentially outsourced.
Constitutional Gazette Notification: The formal gazette notification coming from the federal government confirmed that President Asif Ali Zardari has exercised his powers under Article 232(1) and 234(1) of the constitution. Provincial assembly powers have been handed over to parliamentary oversight and the Chief Minister, provincial ministers, advisors and special assistants have effectively lost their jobs.