- All parties representatives except PTI, attend ANP hosted-APC
- Joint communiqué terms SIFC an unconstitutional body, demanding its dissolution
SWAT: An All Parties Conference (APC) hosted by the Awami National Party (ANP) in Swat on Tuesday unanimously rejected the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Mines and Minerals Bill 2025, describing it as a direct attack on the 18th Constitutional Amendment, provincial autonomy, and the people’s control over local resources.
The conference also strongly criticized federal interference in provincial matters and expressed grave concern over the growing role of the military in politics and the economy.
The APC was held at a local hotel in Mingora, with representatives from nearly all major political parties — excluding Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) — were in attendance.
Participants included leaders from the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Jamaat-e-Islami, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (F), Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), Qaumi Watan Party (QWP), Pakhtunkhwa National Party, Swat Olasi Pasoon, Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PakMAP), as well as members of the business community, civil society, legal fraternity, private school management, hotel associations, lawyers and journalists.
Conspicuously absent were nine KP Assembly members from PTI, three MNAs, the Swat City Mayor, and six Tehsil Chairmen affiliated with the party.
Key speakers included ANP’s central general secretary Brig (r) Muhammad Saleem Khan, district president Sher Shah Khan, former MPAs – Rehmat Ali Khan and Ayub Khan Asharay, JI’s Hameedul Haq, PML-N’s Qavi Khan, JUI-F’s Ijaz Khan, and various civil society representatives.
In a strongly worded joint communiqué issued after the APC, the political leaders declared the KP Mines and Minerals Bill 2025 as an unconstitutional attempt by the federal government to take control of provincial mineral resources through centralized institutions like the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) and the Federal Minerals Wing.
“The people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, through their elected provincial assembly, have the sole right to govern their natural resources,” the declaration said. “No federal bureaucracy or institution should override that authority.”
The participants also denounced the role of the SIFC, calling it a parallel governance structure that undermines democratic institutions by giving sweeping powers to the military and federal agencies in key sectors such as agriculture, minerals, tourism, environment, and IT. They termed the SIFC an unconstitutional body and demanded its immediate dissolution.
The conference announced the launch of a province-wide protest campaign against the bill, engaging lawyers, youth, civil society, and journalists to raise awareness and mobilize public resistance. “This struggle is not limited to KP alone — it is a national movement to protect the constitutional rights of all federating units and uphold the supremacy of the Constitution,” speakers emphasized.
Participants endorsed the stance taken by Balochistan’s political parties against similar legislation and demanded its immediate repeal. They also categorically rejected the imposition of any form of taxation — direct or indirect — in the Malakand Division, warning of mass protests in response.
The APC expressed serious concern over the deteriorating law and order situation in Swat and Malakand Division and urged security agencies, including the military and intelligence services, to take decisive action against extremist and militant elements destabilizing the region.
