A request by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly Speaker Babar Saleem Swati to seek an in-camera briefing from the Peshawar Corps Commander has triggered a protocol dispute, with security sources saying the letter was never received and calling the move a violation of established procedure.
According to sources, the provincial government does not have the authority to directly contact the Corps Commander or General Headquarters for any formal or institutional briefing.
They said the recognized process requires the matter to be sent by the provincial government to the federal government, which then forwards it to GHQ through the Ministry of Defence before instructions are issued to the relevant formation.
Swati had written on January 8 seeking a closed-door briefing for a 40-member special committee of the KP Assembly that is reviewing the security situation in the merged districts.
The committee has already taken briefings from the chief secretary, the home department and the police chief, and has also referred to a grand peace jirga held in December.
However, security sources said that bypassing the federal government was not only against protocol but also a deviation from constitutional and institutional norms of civil-military relations.
They added that while GHQ allows routine coordination, an in-camera briefing is not a routine matter and requires prior federal approval.
The development has highlighted fresh friction over procedure at a sensitive time for the province’s security review process.
