Shehbaz Sharif tells cabinet Rs160bn Khyber Pakhtunkhwa package is finalised, calling security the top priority
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has told the federal cabinet that a Rs160 billion development and security package for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has been finalised, while stressing that Pakistan is continuing its efforts to restore peace in the Middle East.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has told a meeting of the federal cabinet in Islamabad that the government has finalised a Rs160 billion development and security package for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, placing the restoration of law and order in the province at the very top of its agenda.
“Security is our number one, two and three priority in KP,” the prime minister said, according to Dawn’s account of Wednesday’s cabinet meeting. He said the package had been finalised the previous day, and that it would support both development work and the security effort in a province that has borne the brunt of militant violence.
The announcement came a day after a high-level civil-military meeting, chaired by the prime minister on Tuesday, agreed to expand intelligence-based operations against terrorists in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and to strengthen coordination between federal and provincial institutions. That meeting reviewed the security situation in 12 districts of the province and the performance of the Area Representative and Development Council, and also reviewed implementation of the Rs160 billion package.
The package itself is not new in outline: it was first announced at a Federal Apex Committee meeting on 22 October, under the banner “Badalta, Nikharta, Mazboot Khyber Pakhtunkhwa”. What Wednesday’s cabinet remarks add is the government’s statement that the package is now finalised, and the prime minister’s framing of it as a combined peace-and-development effort rather than a security measure alone.
Officials have previously described the package as being implemented in phases, beginning with strengthening the provincial police through modern weapons, armoured vehicles, equipment and training, followed by work on education, health, sanitation and infrastructure, and then the completion of pending projects. The government imposed governor’s rule and a state of emergency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on 11 October, and has said it aims to restore peace within six months.
Turning to foreign affairs, the prime minister said Pakistan was continuing its efforts for the restoration of peace in the Middle East “as before”, amid escalating global fuel prices. He pointed to recent diplomatic engagement involving Iran, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye, saying Pakistani delegations had visited Tehran twice over the past two to three weeks as part of efforts to address the regional crisis.
The Express Tribune reported that the prime minister described a meeting in Tehran between senior leaders of the countries party to the Makkah Defence Agreement and the Iranian leadership as cordial and positive, with Field Marshal Asim Munir and Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi taking part alongside the leadership of Turkiye and Saudi Arabia.
On the domestic front, the prime minister said the government was working “day and night” to meet requirements for liquefied petroleum gas, liquefied natural gas, petrol and gas ahead of winter, despite challenges arising from the closure of maritime routes. He also said the burden of increased electricity prices had not been passed on to the public, and that a fuel subsidy scheme would continue until the end of December.
Dunya News reported that more than 15 million people had directly benefited from the fuel subsidy scheme, for which Rs28 billion had been released. The prime minister also congratulated Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb on assuming the chairmanship of the G24 group of developing countries.
What happens next will depend on delivery. The test of the Rs160 billion package will be whether the promised police capacity, services and pending projects reach the districts most affected by violence, and whether the expanded intelligence-based operations reduce attacks without deepening the political dispute over governor’s rule in the province. For now, the government’s message from the cabinet room is that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa comes first — on security, and on development.
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