WEB DESK: A disagreement has erupted between the PTI-led Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government and the federal authorities over the provision of bulletproof vehicles to police forces in the province.
The dispute was sparked when KP Chief Minister Sohail Afridi ordered the return of the vehicles supplied by Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, claiming they were outdated and defective. Speaking at a law and order and governance meeting his first since assuming office Afridi described the vehicles as “an insult to the KP police” and emphasized the need for better equipment.
However, Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry criticized Afridi’s decision during a press conference in Islamabad. He accused the KP government of avoiding responsibility in the fight against terrorism, asserting that the vehicles provided were fully equipped with bulletproof and bombproof features. Chaudhry further stated that these vehicles had been used by both the interior minister and the previous KP chief minister.
Chaudhry expressed disappointment over Afridi’s directives, stressing that the vehicles were intended for counter-terrorism efforts. Since the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan in 2021, cross-border terror incidents along Pakistan’s KP and Balochistan borders have escalated dramatically. Last month, officials estimated that over 8,000 TTP militants had crossed into KP from Afghanistan.
A police report indicated that more than 600 terror-related incidents occurred in KP during the first eight months of 2025, resulting in the martyrdom of 138 civilians and 79 police personnel, with over 100 injured.KP Governor Faisal Karim Kundi also voiced support for the provincial government’s decision, suggesting that the vehicles should have been retained. Speaking to reporters in Peshawar, he called on the provincial authorities to seek more support from the federal government and questioned why the vehicles were returned.
Sources familiar with the matter revealed that the interior ministry had provided at least three bulletproof vehicles to KP police. Despite being 15 years old, the vehicles were said to still be effective.PTI Chairman Gohar Ali Khan claimed that the vehicles had previously been used by the United Nations before being handed over to KP police. After visiting Imran Khan at Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi, Khan urged the federal government to supply police with higher-quality vehicles to enhance their security capabilities
