KP Assembly seeks Article 6 action against Maryam Nawaz over terrorism remarks

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Assembly on Friday passed a resolution condemning remarks by Chief Minister Punjab Maryam Nawaz, Special Assistant to Prime Minister on political affairs Rana Sanaullah and Punjab Information Minister Azma Bukhari linking the provinces to the threat of terrorism in Punjab, and called for action against Maryam under Article 6 of the Constitution.

The resolution, moved by KP Law Minister Aftab Alam, described the statements by the three Punjab leaders as irresponsible and strongly condemned what it called attempts to associate the provinces with the threat of terrorism in Punjab.

It said Maryam Nawaz’s remarks amounted to an insult to the people of KP and the sacrifices made by its security forces in the fight against terrorism.

The assembly paid tribute to the people of KP who had lost their lives during the war against terrorism, saying the issue was a shared challenge for the entire state and should not be turned into a matter of political blame.

The resolution urged the federal government to initiate proceedings against Maryam Nawaz under Article 6 and called for national security to be kept above political point-scoring.

Minister accuses Maryam of giving India ‘clean chit’

Speaking during the session, KP Higher Education Minister Meena Khan Afridi criticised Maryam Nawaz’s remarks, claiming they had effectively given India a “clean chit” over terrorism.

Afridi alleged that the statement also amounted to overlooking alleged atrocities in Indian-occupied Kashmir and India.

“We still consider India a terrorist state,” Afridi said, according to the assembly proceedings.

The provincial minister said the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had sacrificed around 80,000 lives in the fight against terrorism and had helped protect the country.

She also accused those behind the Model Town incident, the Muridke episode and the November 26 incident of being terrorists.

Afridi further accused Maryam Nawaz of wanting to “break Pakistan” and called for legal action against her. She demanded that Maryam be removed from office and that criminal cases be registered against her.

‘Neighbouring provinces’

Last week, Maryam Nawaz had said the province faced a greater security threat from neighbouring provinces than neighbouring countries, claiming terrorists entered Punjab through its provincial borders.

Speaking at an AI technology event in Lahore, she said Punjab had remained largely secure despite threats from all its provincial borders and that law and order had improved significantly since her government took office in 2024. She said the provincial government had since established a comprehensive security system, including bulletproof surveillance cameras, thermal imaging cameras and drones at checkpoints and joint checkpoints.