PESHAWAR: Governor Faisal Karim Kundi has insisted on punishing the May 9 culprits to eliminate the possibility of recurrence of such incidents.
Kundi portrayed the May 9, 2023, calamity as an epoch that shaded Pakistan’s whole history, and demanded the imposition of accountability as a precondition to stopping the repetition of such events. The Governor, during his media interaction on Thursday, stated that the May 9 incidents dare not go unpunished and are the only measure of ensuring that the occurrence of such incidents is wiped out.
“The May 9 events stand out as the most significant and damaging incidents ever,” the Governor remarked. “Whoever might be, right from the Chief Minister through to me, all should be punished fittingly. Surely we wouldn’t have the current situation if the May 9 offenders had been made to pay their dues.”
Kundi wanted it to be understood that the whole process of making people accountable has to be conducted with utmost impartiality and the Governor laid down the law that nobody, no matter how high his/her position is, should be above the law. The May 9 incident was characterized by violent confrontations and upheaval and has remained a controversial issue affecting the political and security aspects of the country. “The May 9 incident would not be completely forgotten if the wrongdoers or their helpers had faced punishment,”Kundi stated. His comments indicate that the government has not been able to handle the situation from the incident effectively, and it keeps haunting the involved parties through unresolved issues.
Kundi not only voiced his opinions on the May 9 incident but also made disturbing notifications about the security concerns in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa which are primarily terrorism. The province sharing a border with Afghanistan has been facing assaults from TTP, whom he pointed out, are receiving support from outside. He declared that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa suffers considerably from cross-border terrorism which is purported to be Indian-backed; hence, he warned that the provincial government should be vigilant
“We live with the constant fear of attacks from killers and TTP is the main group behind this. The proof in the form of videos and other evidence is plain there are no foreign powers like India or Israel involved but only the same TTP people,” is what Kundi said.
Kundi also mentioned the issue of IDPs, saying that the cooperation between the federal and provincial governments that was providing funds and support was a good step but he raised the issue of confused signals regarding military operations in the area. “The federal and provincial governments are indeed providing funds for the IDPs, but there are differing opinions on the question if military operations should be permitted,” was Kundi’s line. “How can it be that the same people who claim no operations are being asked for are the ones who, at the same time, declare that they won’t allow them?”
He also underlined the necessity of the federal-provincial cooperation for the peace of the province. Kundi feared that if security matters are not handled jointly, then the federal government might be forced to impose Governor’s Rule in that case.
