Pakistan's federal government has imposed an emergency and governor's rule on Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), run by former prime minister Imran Khan's PTI. The government cites a weak counterterrorism effort; the PTI calls the step unconstitutional.
According to Kyunghyang Shinmun on October 12, Dawn and Al-Monitor, President Asif Ali Zardari on Sunday, October 11 approved a recommendation from an emergency cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to proclaim an emergency and governor's rule in KP. Dawn said the steps rest on Articles 232 (emergency) and 234 (governor's rule when constitutional machinery fails in a province).
광고 문의 · 300×250The cabinet said the KP government had 'deliberately disengaged' from the fight against terrorism, and the government also authorised deployment of army troops in aid of civil power. Al-Monitor quoted Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar as saying the constitution lets the federal government take over from provincial authorities in an emergency, with the governor initially serving six months.
Counterterrorism policy and failed talks
Dawn said the move followed rising friction between the federal PML-N government and the PTI government in KP over counterterrorism policy, with talks breaking down on October 3. The centre has criticised KP's counterterrorism efforts and its stance on dialogue with the Afghan Taliban, and Sharif said he would not allow the PTI to destabilise the economy. The PTI and Kabul deny sympathising with the Taliban.
Administratively, an 11-member technocratic advisory council was formed to assist the governor, with Governor Faisal Karim Kundi chairing its first meeting, and a new chief secretary was named. Dawn reported internet and mobile disruption in parts of Peshawar, containers blocking roads and heavy police deployment; NetBlocks also reported major disruption in parts of KP.
Opposition pushback and legal fight
PTI spokesperson Zulfikar Bukhari called it 'more of a coup disguised as emergency', saying it risks more bloodshed and aims to stop a protest. Maulana Fazlur Rehman of the JUI-F, whom the government had engaged as a mediator, condemned it as 'an ambush on democracy'. The PTI's parliamentary party called it unconstitutional and said it would contest it in courts, assemblies and public forums.
Reports about the whereabouts of KP Chief Minister Sohail Afridi also emerged. According to Dawn, KP's information minister and others claimed he had been arrested; police did not respond and the PTI could not confirm. The minister of state for interior acknowledged some detentions without confirming whether Afridi was among them, and Al-Monitor cited a close aide saying Afridi was under movement restrictions.
Before a planned PTI march on Islamabad, hundreds of activists and three of Khan's sisters had already been detained and tens of thousands of security personnel deployed. The legal footing of the emergency depends on parliamentary approval procedures and judicial review. As this is a domestic constitutional dispute, we report both sides' claims as stated.
