Uproar as CM Maryam’s ‘chauvinistic’ remarks cause controversy over provincial divide

Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz came under fire on Saturday after her remarks that Punjab faced a greater security threat from other provinces than neighbouring countries triggered widespread criticism and concerns over the widening provincial divide.

The remarks, made at the e-launching ceremony of the Artificial Intelligence Hub in Lahore, triggered criticism, particularly from opposition figures, who accused the chief minister of targeting Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and undermining provincial harmony.

The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), the main opposition party, hit out at the chief minister, alleging that her remarks reflected an intention to “break Pakistan apart”.

In a post on X, the party said: “Love for India always wells up from the hearts of the Sharif family, while harboring hatred for their own smaller provinces.”

The PTI said it was “extremely regrettable and irresponsible” for a provincial leader to describe neighbouring provinces within Pakistan as a threat.

“When a provincial leader, instead of fostering unity and solidarity with their own compatriots, fuels hatred and division against them, it shakes the foundations of the federation,” it said.

The party also criticised what it described as the Sharif family’s approach towards India and alleged that their policies had raised questions about their attitude towards the country’s smaller provinces.

It said that if the provinces and people of one’s own country began appearing as “enemies and threats”, the issue lay “not in the neighboring provinces, but in your own mindset and priorities”.

The party also questioned how threats to Pakistan were being defined, alleging that the country’s “real enemy” was being determined according to the preferences of what it called “power-hungry individuals”.

The PTI argued that the appearance of Pakistan’s own provinces and people as “enemies and threats” should prompt a reassessment of the government’s priorities.

“If the units of your own country and your own people start appearing as enemies and threats to you, then the problem lies not in the neighboring provinces, but in your own mindset and priorities,” it said.

Tehreek-e-Tahafuz-e-Ayeen-e-Pakistan (TTAP) Punjab Chief Organiser Ammar Ali Jan and Information Secretary Shayan Bashir condemned the remarks they said blamed Pakistan’s own provinces for terrorism, calling the statement “not merely regrettable but dangerous”.

They said the chief minister had told a public gathering in Lahore that the threat to Punjab came less from across the border than from the provinces alongside it.

Jan said alienation among young people in the smaller provinces was already deepening due to years of political deprivation and injustice. He said linking entire provinces to terrorism would fan hatred and prejudice.

He added that such remarks could play into the hands of elements seeking to destabilise Pakistan.

Bashir said it was “a particular arrogance” for a chief minister whom he described as having been installed on a disputed mandate to cast suspicion on provinces where, he claimed, the people’s verdict was respected.

He alleged that the PML-N leadership was trying to divide people along provincial lines to revive what he called “dying politics”, adding that people would no longer be misled by attempts to stoke hatred.

The TTAP leaders said Punjab’s leadership had a particular responsibility not to speak about smaller provinces in a language of suspicion and demanded that the chief minister withdraw her remarks.

“This country is held together by the Constitution and by equal citizenship, not by sorting provinces into the trusted and the suspected,” they said.

Qaiser calls remarks ‘insulting’

Former National Assembly speaker and senior PTI leader Asad Qaiser also condemned CM Maryam’s remarks, describing them as insulting towards K-P.

“Maryam Nawaz’s insulting and sarcastic statement regarding Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is extremely shameful and reprehensible,” Qaiser wrote in a post on X.

He said K-P had been confronting terrorism for several decades and that its people had paid the heaviest price in the war against terrorism.

He criticised successive federal governments for what he described as flawed and failed policies, arguing that the people of K-P continued to suffer the consequences of decisions taken by successive administrations.

“Thousands of families were uprooted, millions of people were displaced, businesses were destroyed, and an entire generation spent their lives in fear, unrest and insecurity,” Qaiser said.

He recalled the mass displacement caused by military operations in areas including Waziristan, Bajaur, Swat, Buner, Lower Dir and Shangla, saying millions of people had been forced to leave their homes during periods of conflict while also highlighting the sacrifices of the K-P Police in the fight against terrorism.

“Instead of acknowledging these countless sacrifices and providing solace to the wounds of the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the families of martyrs and the police personnel, mocking and ridiculing their hardships not only demonstrates political insensitivity but is also an extremely lamentable stance at the national level,” Qaiser said.

He urged CM Maryam to recognise the contribution of K-P residents and law-enforcement personnel to the country’s fight against terrorism and to show greater sensitivity towards families affected by the conflict.

“Maryam Nawaz should, instead of taunting the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, acknowledge their sacrifices, pay tribute to the martyrs and ghazis of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police, and respect the affected families,” he said.

‘Divisive and derogatory’

Former PML-N senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed also criticised the statement, describing it as divisive and derogatory towards K-P.

In a post on X, he called it a “shockingly chauvinistic statement” that was “highly divisive and derogatory” and reflected “ignorance and arrogance”.

He argued that the people of K-P were among the biggest victims of terrorism, while, in his view, India had been “conveniently exonerated”.

PPP’s Raisani questions CM’s thinking

Pakistan Peoples Party leader and National Assembly member from Balochistan Jamal Khan Raisani also questioned the chief minister’s assessment of the threat.

“Punjab is not threatened by neighboring provinces or the people living there. It is threatened by your thinking,” he wrote on X.

He urged the Punjab government to improve border management instead of “profiling” people coming from other provinces.

Raisani also raised the issue of scholarships for students from Balochistan, saying that after the announcement of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, former prime minister Nawaz Sharif had announced scholarships for Balochistan students, but that these had subsequently been reduced.

He further alleged that, during a meeting, a response involving wheat had placed students from Balochistan “in the ranks of terrorists”.

Zulfi Bukhari calls remarks ‘beyond politics’

PTI leader Zulfi Bukhari also condemned the statement, describing it as going beyond political differences and alleging that it was an attempt to divide the country.

In a post on X, he said the “latest venom is beyond politics; it is an attempt to divide and tear the country apart”.

He argued that progress and prosperity required a “complete vision for the country as a whole”, rather than divisive politics.

Former parliamentarian and founding member of the National Democratic Movement Bushra Gohar also criticised Maryam’s remarks.

In a post on X, she called it “shameful” to blame Pakhtunkhwa, which she described as a victim of terrorism, for terrorism in Punjab.

She accused the state of pursuing policies that had resulted in death, destruction and mass displacement in the province and called for accountability and a truth commission.

Senior columnist Cyril Almeida also criticised the remarks, saying they reflected the thinking of the Sharif family towards other provinces.