Dar-Led Committee To Oversee KP Affairs After Emergency

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has formed an 11-member committee led by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar to oversee the affairs of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa after the imposition of emergency measures and governor’s rule in the province.

The committee has been set up to monitor governance and security matters in KP on a daily basis and report developments to the prime minister. A source close to the premier said the body had been formed informally and that no official notification had yet been issued regarding its creation.

The Dar-led committee is expected to maintain close coordination with the new administrative setup in the province. Its role will include assisting the KP Advisory Council in carrying out its duties and dealing with security-related matters at a time when the province is under federal attention because of the law-and-order situation.

Members of the committee include senior federal ministers and political representatives. Law Minister Azam Nazir Tarar, Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar, Kashmir Affairs Minister Amir Muqam, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Tariq Fazal Chaudhry, MQM Convener Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui and Adviser to the Prime Minister Rana Sanaullah are among those named as part of the body.

The committee will also include one representative each from the PPP, the Balochistan Awami Party and the Istehkam-i-Pakistan Party. The inclusion of coalition partners indicates that the federal government is trying to keep allied parties involved in decisions linked to KP’s governance and security framework.

The move follows the prime minister’s earlier formation of an 11-member KP Advisory Board, described as a cabinet of Governor Faisal Karim Kundi, to run provincial affairs under the new setup. That arrangement came after emergency and governor’s rule were imposed in the province, placing day-to-day administration under a changed constitutional and political framework.

Parliament is also expected to take up the matter as President Asif Ali Zardari has summoned sessions of the Senate and National Assembly today at 6pm. The sessions are apparently aimed at securing parliamentary endorsement for the proclamation of emergency and governor’s rule, a constitutional requirement after such a step is taken.

Minister of State for Law Barrister Aqeel has said the period of emergency and governor’s rule could extend beyond six months depending on the security situation in KP. The next major test for the federal government will be whether the new oversight structure can improve security while avoiding deeper political confrontation in the province.