Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi said in Peshawar that the people of the province hold the first right to its resources, and that no one, foreign or Pakistani, will be allowed to loot them. An outside party, he said, may enter a joint venture with the people of KP only if willing.
He described KP as the country’s largest oil producer and second-largest gas producer, and pledged that the merged districts will not be deprived of their share of the Rs160 billion promised by the federal government.
The remarks follow JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s allegation that the governor’s rule and emergency imposed on 11 October were meant to take control of KP’s minerals. Federal ministers reject this, saying the measures were meant to restore law and order.
The assurance answers a question of process, not principle. Kundi has cited Article 158, which gives the producing province first right over natural gas, but how that principle applies to minerals is left open. He has also said the province will extract and sell its minerals through many agreements. Any such deals signed while the elected government is suspended will face a legitimacy test.
An Auditor General report recently flagged Rs16.94 billion in irregularities in KP’s Minerals Department, including Rs8 billion lost to illegal mining, which strengthens the case for transparency. Published terms and clear oversight would do more than any assurance to settle the question.
Read More: Governor’s Rule and Emergency Imposed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: What Are the Core Reasons?
Our News Desk represents a rapidly expanding frontier in contemporary journalism, focusing on the intersection of technological advancement, geopolitical narratives, and the shifting dynamics of public information.
