Shehbaz Defends Governor's Rule in Khyber‑Pakhtunkhwa

Overview

• On Saturday, October 31, 2026, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif publicly criticised PTI's nearly 13-year rule in Khyber‑Pakhtunkhwa and said the Centre imposed governor's rule only after talks with provincial leaders broke down.
• He challenged how KP spent roughly Rs800 billion from the 2010 NFC award and called for immediate, visible steps such as better policing, new schools and medicines reaching hospitals to show federal action.
• Independent and provincial data cited in coverage show large service gaps in KP including about 4.92 million out-of-school children, 4,049 government schools listed as dilapidated with an estimated Rs16.2 billion needed for repairs, and many district hospitals lacking medicines and staff.
• Security reports highlighted major shortfalls in policing and counterterrorism capacity, noting thousands of police vacancies, hundreds of unfilled specialist CTD posts and a tiny fleet of CTD bulletproof vehicles.
• The prime minister announced federal relief measures already under way or planned, such as Sehat Card support, a Rs75 billion targeted fuel subsidy and new Daanish School campuses for remote districts, and opponents have raised constitutional and legitimacy questions about governor's rule that the Centre must now address.