Pakistan’s president, Asif Ali Zardari, has approved emergency rule in the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, suspending the elected provincial government in a dramatic escalation of the country’s political crisis.
Acting on the advice of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and the federal cabinet, Mr Zardari on Sunday invoked Articles 232 and 234 of the constitution, transferring executive authority from the provincial administration to Governor Faisal Karim Kundi, supported by an 11-member advisory council. Emergency administrative arrangements were also announced for 12 districts of the province, according to reports.
Security cited as the trigger
The federal cabinet said the intervention had become necessary because of deteriorating law and order, rising militant attacks and what it described as the provincial government’s deliberate disengagement from the fight against terrorism. Ministers reviewed security briefings before recommending the move, and the prime minister’s office said talks with provincial leaders had failed to bridge the divide.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is governed by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, the party of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan, and is the party’s last major provincial stronghold. PTI leaders rejected the federal justification outright, calling the emergency a pretext to dismantle an elected government. One PTI lawmaker claimed the province’s chief minister, Sohail Afridi, had been detained alongside the party’s provincial president, though that account could not be independently verified.
A constitutional flashpoint
The timing has sharpened the controversy. The proclamation came amid weeks of tension over PTI’s protest campaign demanding Mr Khan’s release and assurances about his medical care and political rights, with supporters marching toward Islamabad. The Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (F) chief, Maulana Fazlur Rehman, also rejected the move, calling it an assault on democracy and vowing to resist it on every front.
Under the constitution, the federal government may assume provincial functions during a declared emergency, but the president’s office did not immediately clarify how long the measures would last. A detailed account of the announcement notes that Dawn and Reuters also reported the decision, underscoring its national significance.
