Governor-CM face-off not good for KP

PESHAWAR: Instead of joining hands to eradicate terrorism and overcome other challenges being faced by the province, the governor and chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have started exchanging threats during public gatherings and media talks.

The ongoing war of words between Governor Faisal Karim Kundi and Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, both hailing from Dera Ismail Khan district, is unprecedented. Dera Ismail Khan has witnessed worsening law and order in recent months.

On Saturday, Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur warned the governor that he can lock the Governor’s House and declare the building a museum. The governor told the media later that his opponents had developed a phobia about the Governor’s House.

Prior to that, the CM while addressing a PTI rally in his hometown on May 9 said he was not afraid of governor’s rule in KP. He continued that in case of any such attempt, the people would occupy the Governor’s House.

The CM told his political opponent that his governorship is “illegal” and that political statements and confrontation were not his business.Kundi later responded by saying that he knows how to protect the Governor’s House.

The governor said that instead of indulging in non-issues, the KP government should focus on improving law and order in Dera Ismail Khan and the rest of KP.Faisal Karim Kundi took oath as the KP governor last week after he was picked by the Pakistan People’s Party for the job.

In his first speech, he had vowed to make all-out efforts, along with the provincial government, to improve the law and order in the province and address other issues. Ali Amin Gandapur was elected chief minister of the province after he won his seat in the February 8 general elections.

The CM and his cabinet even did not attend the oath-taking ceremony of the governor.Faisal Karim Kundi was elected MNA from the district in 2008 and later became deputy speaker of the National Assembly.

Ali Amin was also elected MNA in 2018 and remained federal minister. But this time he was appointed chief minister of the KP.Dera Ismail Khan as well as many other districts of the province have been experiencing worsening law and order for the last many months. The province is also faced with innumerable other challenges.

However, instead of joining hands to work for the province, the two senior most offices of the province have locked horns by making fiery speeches against each other. For improving law and order and addressing other key issues of the KP, the governor and the chief minister should sit together and take immediate measures along with others concerned. The top government functionaries will have to develop a working relationship to overcome the challenges KP is facing.