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Pakistan's Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz has claimed that the state faces more danger from the neighboring states than from the neighboring countries.
Addressing an event in Lahore, Maryam Nawaz had said, "Sadly, the threat to me (Punjab) is more from my neighboring countries than from the neighboring states."
He claimed that extremism in Punjab comes from these provinces.
Many politicians and analysts on social media in Pakistan are calling his statement 'insensitive' and 'biased'.
Many people say that such statements will strengthen those who want to destabilize Pakistan.
Meanwhile, Punjab Information Minister Uzma Bukhari says that those who are unnecessarily criticizing Maryam Nawaz's statement do not know the reality.
He said, "Such people do not know that modern governance does not just mean building roads and buildings but creating a modern system for peace, law, technology and security of the people." This is the responsibility of the government.
After all, the question is, what did Maryam Nawaz say in her statement that it is being criticized so much?
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Maryam Nawaz accused neighboring states of extremism
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Maryam Nawaz made this statement during the inauguration ceremony of the Provincial Intelligence Fusion and Threat Assessment Center Punjab in Lahore on Saturday.
In the same speech, he had said that Punjab faces more danger from the neighboring provinces than from the neighboring countries.
He said, “You can see for yourself that there are trilateral border areas here. Unfortunately, the threat to me comes more from my neighboring provinces than from my own neighboring countries. Terrorism in Punjab comes from here.
Punjab province is bordered by Sindh, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, while its eastern border is with India.
The Chief Minister said all eyes are on Punjab, but claimed "Punjab is a safe province where the government has worked on AI technology so that we can deal with the threats coming from the borders of all the provinces."
Maryam Nawaz said that her government has spent billions of rupees on technology to meet the security needs of Punjab.
She said that when she became the Chief Minister, she saw that the militants had much more technology than the security personnel.
Maryam Nawaz said, "They have night vision goggles, and they used to come with a lot of planning, but now thankfully we also have that complete system."
He said CCTV cameras have been made bulletproof as extremists used to target them, and now the government has installed thermal cameras and also invested in drones.
On the steps taken by the security agencies to make the posts more secure, he said, "Look at the posts two-two and a half years ago, it seemed as if the security personnel were sitting behind mud walls with a few sacks of soil without any protection. Today you go and see, there are high walls, safe rooms, in case of an attack they can take shelter there or save their lives."
'No problem with India but problem with neighboring provinces'
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi has termed Maryam Nawaz's statement as biased and said that the Punjab Chief Minister's "statement has destroyed Pakistan's position on terrorism at the global level."
He said that the partisan attitude against small provinces shows the mentality of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz which is dividing Pakistan.
"But now declaring three federal units as terrorist bases is tantamount to further destroying the foundation of the country."
Addressing a public meeting in Mirpurkhas district of Sindh on Saturday evening, he said, “The Chief Minister of Punjab calls India a friend. There is no problem with India, but there is a problem with the border provinces of Pakistan."
PTI leader and former National Assembly speaker Asad Qaiser termed Maryam Nawaz's statement as "outrageous" and said Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has been facing the wrath of terrorism for the last several decades and the people of this province have paid the heaviest price in this war.
He said, “The sad thing is that instead of acknowledging the countless sacrifices and healing the wounds of the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the families of the martyrs and the policemen, ridiculing them and making fun of their hardships is not only political indifference but also a highly condemnable attitude. The sacrifices made by the people and police of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for the peace of Pakistan cannot be forgotten by any political statement or ridicule.
'India was easily acquitted'
Former federal minister Mushahid Hussain Syed, while sharing Maryam Nawaz's statement on X, wrote that this statement not only shows the extremely ridiculous and divisive thinking of the rich, but also shows ignorance and arrogance.
He said that the truth is that Punjab's neighboring province Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has had the highest incidence of extremism, while the neighboring country India has been easily acquitted.
Responding to Maryam Nawaz's statement, former North Waziristan MLA Mohsin Dawar alleged, "The terrorism that you are calling a threat to Punjab today has been created by your own Punjabi elite class. Now you have to bear its brunt, we have been burning for decades."
Pakistan Peoples Party's National Assembly member from Balochistan, Nawabzada Jamal Khan Raisani, while sharing Maryam Nawaz's video, wrote, "Punjab is not in danger from the neighboring provinces and the people living there, but from your thinking. Instead of unnecessarily targeting people coming from other provinces, improve the border management of the province."
PPP's Information Secretary Nadeem Afzal Chan says that extremists do not have any province, caste or religion. He said that someone has brought him to Pakistan for his personal agenda. 'Some party or class is benefiting from this and someone is becoming its victim.'
Journalist Benazir Shah wrote on X that this statement of the Chief Minister of Pakistan's most populous and powerful province has special significance.
He said that the language of 'Punjab' versus 'other provinces' actually reinforces a feeling of superiority.
“This has long been a source of apprehension and discontent at the provincial level.”
He said that this statement was reminiscent of Shehbaz Sharif's 2010 appeal in which he had requested extremists not to target Punjab.
Social activist Ammar Ali Jan wrote that such racist comments strengthen those elements who want to create instability in Pakistan.
'Bitter but true'
Punjab Information Minister Uzma Bukhari has responded to the criticism on social media.
He said, "In a terrorism-hit province like Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the priority should be police, CTD and counter-terrorism operations, and not interference in federal foreign affairs, political activities in other provinces and protest politics."
During the rule of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry has also given a similar reaction.
He wrote on
Ziauddin Yousafzai, father of Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai, says that Maryam Nawaz has pointed towards an important issue.
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