Although the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province of Pakistan has been endowed with several key resources and immense potential, it has unfortunately been facing crisis after crisis for many decades, a situation that has made the life of an ordinary resident extremely difficult—if one avoids describing it as ‘unlivable.’
As far as the province’s resource richness and potential are concerned, KP possesses significant deposits of natural gas, well-known reserves of crude oil, and massive hydroelectric power capacity. In addition, it is home to a large portion of Pakistan’s forests and identifiable mineral resources, including rare earth elements (REE). The province is also blessed with fertile agricultural land in the Peshawar Valley as well as in the southern regions, particularly in the Dera Ismail Khan division, along with countless scenic tourist attractions.
Nevertheless, despite these advantages, the province has a very thin industrial base and, consequently, underdeveloped urban infrastructure. This is particularly striking given that KP is one of the most densely populated provinces of the country, with one of the smallest land areas among Pakistan’s provinces and a population of approximately 40.8 million, mostly Pakhtuns, accounting for nearly 17 percent of Pakistan’s total population.
Various factors can be cited to explain the inability of KP to achieve even average levels of economic and social development, as well as political stability. These include deeply rooted ultra-conservative tribal structures and the near indifference of the state toward ensuring the province’s sustained development. Instead, the province and its resources have often been utilized for foreign policy objectives, particularly in relation to neighboring Afghanistan. This policy approach necessitated hosting more than five million Afghan refugees in Pakistan, the majority of whom were settled in KP. Furthermore, the perceived lack of industrial work culture and sustained economic productivity has also been a contributing factor to the recurring crises faced by the province over the past several decades. The resulting large-scale poverty and unemployment have further aggravated the situation. This has included continuous waves of violent terrorism by groups such as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), contributing to a persistent and worsening security environment in KP.
Traditional political parties in the province, particularly the Awami National Party (ANP), Jamiat-e-Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), which ruled the province multiple times—and in the case of PPP and PML-N, also governed at the federal level as major coalition partners from the 1970s to 2013—failed to adequately address the key issues facing the province. Their inability to bring about meaningful change further worsened the situation. As a result, the inhabitants of the province, who had consistently voted for parties with diverse ideological orientations—from the ethno-nationalist ANP to the Pakistani nationalist PML-N—in hopes of resolving their socioeconomic problems, became increasingly disillusioned.
Consequently, they began to rally behind the politically untested Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), led by Imran Khan. A fundamental reason for this shift was PTI’s stance on the issue of US drone (unmanned aerial vehicle) attacks in the adjoining Pakhtun tribal areas of KP, as well as its position on tackling terrorism in the province. The party secured a majority in the KP Provincial Assembly in the 2013 general elections and formed a coalition government with Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) and the Qaumi Watan Party (QWP), led by former Chief Minister Aftab Ahmad Sherpao. Despite internal challenges, the PTI-led government under Chief Minister Pervez Khattak initiated several major development projects, including the Peshawar Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system and the Swat-Malakand Expressway, in addition to launching its flagship Sehat Insaf Card initiative. These efforts raised hopes among the people that the province had finally embarked on a path toward development and stability.
Unfortunately, this optimism did not fully materialize. The PTI has remained in power in the province since 2013, aside from brief caretaker setups during election periods. The people of KP continued to support the party in the hope that it would build upon its initial development projects and implement an effective counterterrorism strategy to ensure lasting peace. However, over nearly 12 years of PTI rule, the situation has gradually deteriorated. Today, serious security and law and order challenges persist across the province. In particular, the western and southern regions—from Kohat division to Dera Ismail Khan division, bordering Punjab and Balochistan—are facing alarming security conditions. Residents in districts such as D.I. Khan, Tank, Lakki Marwat, Bannu, Karak, and Kohat often struggle to carry out daily activities due to the strong presence of militants and terrorists. Attacks on security forces in these areas have become frequent, resulting in significant loss of life.
Similarly, the situation in the former Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), now referred to as the Merged Tribal Districts (MTDs) following their integration into KP through the 25th Constitutional Amendment in 2018, remains deeply concerning. Civic conditions, infrastructure, and access to health and educational facilities in these areas are severely inadequate. Conditions are not much better even in the settled districts, including the provincial capital Peshawar and relatively developed areas such as Abbottabad.
The PTI governments under successive chief ministers—Mahmud Khan, Ali Amin Gandapur, and the incumbent leadership—have, by and large, struggled to ensure effective governance in the province. Several examples highlight these shortcomings. Access to healthcare under the Sehat Insaf Card scheme has reportedly been restricted in practice. Road infrastructure across the province is in poor condition, and the state of public schools has not significantly improved despite repeated policy claims. Most notably, the government’s lack of attention to higher education is evident in its inability to address the financial crisis at the University of Peshawar, where employees have been protesting due to unpaid salaries.
Amid this situation, the federal government has criticized the PTI-led provincial administration for failing to govern effectively and for prioritizing political objectives—such as efforts related to its jailed founder, Imran Khan—over the pressing needs of the people. There is some merit to this argument. On the other hand, the PTI-led provincial government attributes governance challenges to the federal government’s failure to transfer due financial resources. In particular, the non-payment of the promised additional 3 percent share under the National Finance Commission (NFC) Award, following the merger of FATA in 2018, is cited as a constitutional violation. This position also carries considerable weight.
However, the greatest sufferers in this ongoing blame game are neither the federal nor the provincial authorities, but the people of KP. These resilient men and women, who have endured decades of hardship and made significant sacrifices for the country, deserve far better living conditions and governance. If the current trajectory continues, the province risks facing an even more severe crisis in the near future. Therefore, it is imperative for both the federal government and the PTI leadership in KP to reassess their policies, bridge their differences, and work collaboratively to restore stability and make the province livable once again.