Punjab’s Security Woes: Threats From Within More Than From Borders, Says CM Maryam Nawaz

Speaking at a launch event for artificial‑intelligence tools in Lahore on Saturday, Punjab’s chief minister, Maryam Nawaz, made a point that many political analysts are still chewing on: the province’s most pressing security risk comes not from the borders with India or Afghanistan, but from the borders it shares with other Pakistani provinces.

“The unfortunate reality is that the threat we face comes less from our neighbouring countries and more from our neighbouring provinces,” she said, pausing for a moment as journalists scribbled notes. “Terrorism filters into Punjab through those internal borders.”

Maryam reminded the audience that, despite the constant media spotlight on Punjab, the province has managed to stay relatively safe – a fact she credited to the steady improvement in law‑and‑order since her government took office in 2024. “We have seen a marked decline in violent incidents,” she added, “and that is no accident.”

She didn’t shy away from naming the culprits she believes fuel the unrest. Organized crime rings and groups that masquerade as religious outfits, she argued, have been spreading hatred under the guise of faith. The now‑banned Tehreek‑i‑Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) was mentioned implicitly, as she labeled such entities “political parties in reality.”

On a brighter note, Maryam highlighted Punjab’s leap into the digital age. “We are now the most AI‑enabled province in the country,” she declared, noting that billions of rupees have been poured into surveillance, drones, and thermal imaging. She recounted how, when she first assumed office, militants were already equipped with night‑vision gear that out‑classed government equipment. Today, bullet‑proof cameras and checkpoint drones, she said, are the new norm.

The chief minister also recalled the grim days when attacks on checkpoints would leave five to ten dead. “Those attacks still happen, but the loss of life has dropped dramatically,” she asserted, pointing to the fortified infrastructure and advanced tech as the main reasons.

Beyond the highways and city streets, the once‑troubled “katcha” border areas have, according to Maryam, transformed from hotbeds of kidnapping and extortion into zones where the writ of the state now holds sway – a change she credited to cooperation between the Punjab government, the military, and the Sindh administration.

Corruption, she warned, remains a lingering nemesis. “I’m not talking about police ranks or government titles; I’m talking about the whole nation getting used to graft as a daily habit,” she said, announcing that a fresh anti‑corruption drive has been launched to strike at the heart of the problem.

The remarks did not sit well with the opposition. PTI’s central information secretary, Sheikh Waqas Akram, blasted Maryam’s comments as “reckless” and accused her of turning national security into a provincial tug‑of‑war. He reminded the public that security challenges are a shared national burden and cannot be solved by pointing fingers at one province over another.

In the end, Maryam’s speech painted a picture of a Punjab that is technologically forward, increasingly secure, yet still wrestling with internal fissures and the age‑old spectre of corruption – a province that, in her view, must look inward as much as it looks outward for peace and stability.