Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur has issued a blunt ultimatum to the federal government: stop the drone flights over the province or face a wave of public protests led by the provincial administration.
The warning follows weeks of reported drone sightings in Swat and parts of the merged tribal districts, sparking anxiety among a population still scarred by years of conflict. Gandapur, speaking to reporters in Peshawar, made it clear that the province would no longer tolerate what he described as a violation of sovereignty and “mental torture” for the residents.
“We are being asked to stay silent while our skies are patrolled by unidentified drones,” Gandapur said. “If the federal government cannot explain who these drones belong to and why they are here, we will take the protest to the streets. The people of KP have paid the highest price for peace; we won’t let that peace be sabotaged again.”
The Chief Minister’s stance marks a significant escalation in the ongoing friction between the PTI-led provincial government and the federal administration in Islamabad. While federal authorities have largely remained tight-lipped about the nature of the flights, local residents have documented several instances of low-flying surveillance craft over sensitive areas.
The “so what” of this development is clear: Gandapur is tapping into deep-seated local grievances to pressure the center. By framing the drone sightings as a failure of national defense or a secret deal with foreign powers, he is forcing the military and federal government into a corner where they must either provide an explanation or risk a provincial-led uprising.
The provincial assembly has already echoed these concerns, with members demanding a formal briefing on the security situation. Gandapur hasn’t set a specific date for the protests yet, but he hinted that the “first phase” would involve mobilizing local elders and political workers across the northern districts.
“We aren’t looking for a confrontation, but we won’t be ignored,” the CM added. He gave no timeline for a federal response, but his rhetoric suggests the window for a quiet diplomatic resolution between Peshawar and Islamabad is closing fast.
The federal government now faces a choice: disclose the nature of the aerial activity and risk exposing operational secrets, or stay silent and watch the KP government turn the province’s airspace into a political battlefield. For the people in Swat and Waziristan, the drones are a reminder of a past they want to forget; for Gandapur, they are a potent political tool.
