10% of Pakistan’s development funds diverted to terror groups, parallel economy thrives: JUI-F chief Fazl-ur-Rehman

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Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehman, chief of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), has delivered a sharp critique of Pakistan’s federal and provincial governments, warning that the country is sinking deeper into disorder due to unchecked terror financing, extortion, and militancy. Speaking at an All Parties Conference, Fazl said the state had “failed to protect its people, their lives and property," leaving citizens vulnerable to armed groups.

According to Fazl, militant networks are flourishing across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, and parts of Sindh, with the government’s writ largely absent. “Institutions have completely collapsed. Militants have taken control of tribal areas, stopping people on roads, checking their IDs, kidnapping officials and looting civilians in broad daylight," he said, highlighting the alarming breakdown of law and order.

The JUI-F leader also accused systemic corruption of turning terror financing into a near-institutionalised practice. He claimed that nearly 10 per cent of Pakistan’s development funds are being siphoned off to militant groups, allowing extortion and ransom for kidnappings to operate as a parallel economy. “Extortion and ransom for kidnappings have become a parallel economy, while ordinary people live in fear," Fazl remarked.

He further raised concerns about the security of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) routes, a key economic initiative for Pakistan. Militants, he alleged, were repeatedly ambushing convoys, disrupting trade, and targeting workers, undermining both national security and economic prospects.

Fazl’s statement comes at a time of rising tension between Pakistan’s federal and provincial leadership over terror financing. Recently, the Interior Minister and the Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa accused each other of facilitating extortion networks and militant groups, exposing cracks within the political establishment.

By openly highlighting the scale of militancy and corruption, Fazl has underscored the growing security vacuum in Pakistan, where governance in restive provinces appears to have collapsed. His warnings paint a grim picture of a state struggling to assert control, with ordinary citizens increasingly living under the shadow of armed groups.