Maryam’s ‘Chauvinistic’ Remarks Spark Strong Criticism Across Political Circles

Staff Report

ISLAMABAD: Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz has faced severe backlash over her remarks that Punjab faces a greater security threat from other provinces than from neighbouring countries, sparking widespread criticism and concerns over the deepening of the provincial divide.

The remarks, made during the e-launching ceremony of the Artificial Intelligence Hub in Lahore, drew strong criticism, particularly from opposition leaders, who accused the chief minister of targeting Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and making statements that could undermine inter-provincial harmony and national unity.

Former National Assembly speaker and senior PTI leader Asad Qaiser 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.

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”.

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”.

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 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.