ISLAMABAD: Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman has alleged that the writ of the state had collapsed in large parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, speaking to journalists at Parliament House in Islamabad.
His remarks come at a time when security forces have been reporting intensified intelligence-based operations (IBOs) under Operation Radd-ul-Fitna 3 and the Azm-e-Istehkam campaign.
In recent weeks, the ISPR and security sources have reported operations in Hangu, Bannu, Ziarat, Harnai, Sorab, Kili Zaik, Mastung, Bolan, Kharan and other districts, with claims of more than 50 terrorists killed, hideouts destroyed and weapons including sniper rifles, M4 rifles, grenades and IED-making material recovered.
An operation in Hangu district on August 7, in which seven terrorists were killed and Captain Hamza Akram embraced martyrdom, was among the incidents cited by officials.
مولانا فضل الرحمن کی خوفناک باتیں۔۔۔
ہمارا صوبہ ، حضرت، آپ لوگ اسلام آباد میں بیٹھے ہوئے ہیں۔ شاید آپ حضرات کو یہاں پر ادراک نہ ہو یا لاہور میں بیٹھے ہوئے لوگوں کو اتنا ادراک نہ ہو کہ دریائے سندھ کے مغربی کنارے پر اس وقت کوئی رِٹ نہیں ہے۔لکی مروت ہو، بنوں ہو، ٹانک ہو، وہاں… pic.twitter.com/XnTquspoqP
— Fahim Akhtar Malik (@writetofahim) August 18, 2026
Referring to the situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the JUI-F chief said:
“Our province… you people are sitting in Islamabad. Perhaps you gentlemen do not realize here or the people sitting in Lahore do not realize that there is no writ on the western bank of the Indus River at this time.”
Police command broken, alleges Fazl
Maulana Fazlur Rehman claimed that the chain of command of police had broken in districts including Lakki Marwat, Bannu and Tank.
“Be it Lakki Marwat, Bannu, Tank, the chain of command of the police has been broken there. The police have formed committees there. The police have set up roadblocks, blocked the roads. They neither accept the order of the DPO, nor the order of the DIG, nor the order of the IG and they have completely formed their own command. And whatever the head of the committee says, that is what happens,” he said.
Referring to recent incidents in Hangu, he claimed that a police compound was surrounded.
“The incidents that have just happened in Hangu, the entire compound, whatever was police, was surrounded by the Taliban. Then he [the DPO] requested the elders that if you can do anything, you should talk to these people. Then the local scholars/clerics went there and talked to them and told them that we will release these soldiers and policemen, but they will have to give up their weapons and we will also make a video of it. And the DPO said, okay, we agree to both things,” he claimed.
He further claimed that six personnel remained in captivity and were later released after mediation by local elders/clerics.
“Then the next day it was found out that six of the men were still with them… They released them in such a way that they hugged each policeman and kept giving him ten thousand rupees,” he said.
According to him, the situation extended to Kurram, Orakzai and other Pashtun areas of the province, where “the writ has completely ended.”
Situation in Balochistan
Commenting on Balochistan, Fazl said that beyond Quetta’s Chiltan range, the situation was critical.
“In Baloch areas, if you cross the Chiltan, then it will be up to Chagai or you can go to Mastung and Khuzdar, today I want to tell you only to save the cities, excavations have been done around the cities and inside them the army has taken over the fronts and is taking equipment there, so that only the cities can be saved, the district headquarters can be saved, the tehsil headquarters can be saved, the rest of the fields, villages etc. are in their hands,” he claimed.
He questioned why the seriousness of the situation was not being addressed and said that raising the issue led to him being labelled a criminal.
“Journalists should leave, international human rights organizations should come, they should go from outside, in these areas,” he said.
‘Put out the fire first’
Drawing an analogy, the JUI-F chief said:
“In this situation, when your house is on fire and the brothers are sitting together in the house that is on fire, how do you divide this house? Is this reasonable? Do you have to put out the fire or do you have to divide the houses? So, even after the creation of provinces, the situation is almost the same.”
It is important to mention here that the claims made by Maulana Fazlur Rehman could not be independently verified.
Security officials on the other hand have maintained that IBOs and sanitization operations are continuing without interruption to eliminate terrorist networks and establish lasting peace.
