ISLAMABAD : In his keynote address at the Institute of Regional Studies (IRS) on “Strategies and Way Forward to Address the Security Challenges’, Governor Faisal Karim Kundi reaffirmed the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK)’S commitment and resolve building peace and stability through strategic reforms and sustainable development. Highlighting the province’s vanguard role in Pakistan’s fight against extremism and terrorism, he lauded the resilience and courage of the people of KPK.
Governor Kundi also emphasized that the instability in Afghanistan directly impacted upon Pakistan’s security, citing cross-border movement of non-state actors leading to increased terrorism, smuggling, and illicit trade. Border security remained a paramount concern for the provincial government, he added.
Noting that maintaining stability and security was fundamental to national progress, the Governor emphasized the that equitable economic growth, good governance, and social development are prerequisites for countering subversive ideologies.
Faisal Karim Kundi also underscored that capitalizing investment opportunities through building special economic zones, and trade corridors, skill development and imparting education coupled with promotion of inter-faith harmony and social cohesion, would be the key to ensuring peace and stability.
With reference to Pakistan’s geopolitical complexities and security threats emanating from across the borders, the Governor noted that use of propaganda, funding violent extremism, cyberattacks, and attempts to thwart the building of infrastructure were all part of nefarious designs to imperil Pakistan’s internal security and integrity. ‘A robust counter-terror strategy with enhanced intelligence coordination was crucial to mitigate these risks’, he remarked.
Governor Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Faisal Karim Kundi emphasized the need for national unity and consensus to tackle the province’s growing security challenges.
Kundi criticized Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) for politicizing sensitive national issues and stressed the importance of collaborative efforts between the federal and provincial governments along with the military leadership.
He questioned the lack of resources for law enforcement, highlighting the poor conditions faced by police personnel battling heavily armed militants.
“We must provide modern equipment and bulletproof vehicles to our officers, even at the SHO level, to ensure their safety during operations,” he said.
Amb. Jauhar Saleem, President IRS, in his remarks on the occasion, underlined the need for adopting a holistic approach, keeping in view domestic as well as multiple foreign factor in play. He felt that policy measures in a range of areas, including economic and human development, improving policing and administration, reforming the criminal justice system and access to justice, rooting out corruption and, upgrading the law enforcement capacity were require on the one hand, and countering of nefarious narratives propagated by the violent radicals was essential on the other hand. He also underscored the need for a candid and outcome- oriented debate that could be supported by the intelligentsia and think tanks to address the disconnect between the people, especially the youth, and the state.
The interactive session was attended by a largen number of diplomats, opinionmakers, academics, researchers, students and media representatives.