ISLAMABAD: The Pakistani president on Sunday declared a state of emergency in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan and suspended its government, which is led by imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s party. It comes ahead of a planned march on Islamabad by supporters demanding his release.
President Asif Ali Zardari’s announcement came hours after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s office said that the federal Cabinet had recommended emergency rule, accusing the provincial government of “deliberate disengagement from the fight against terrorism.”
The measures place the province under the authority of an appointed governor, who represents the federal government.
Khan, Sharif’s main political rival, has been imprisoned since 2023 on corruption and other charges that he and his party say are politically motivated. Despite his imprisonment, he retains a substantial and passionate support base, keeping him at the center of Pakistan’s turbulent political landscape.
Why the federal government imposed emergency rule
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi accused the provincial government of neglecting counterterrorism efforts while focusing on securing Khan’s release.
Naqvi said delays in decision-making and poor coordination between Islamabad and the provincial government had allowed militants to gain ground, prompting the decision to impose an emergency in the province. Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar said militant violence in the province had increased by 196 percent in recent years.
Information Minister Attaullah Tarar announced an 11-member advisory council, which will run provincial affairs under the governor.
He accused the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government led by Chief Minister Sohail Afridi of forming an “unholy alliance” with militants. “Failing to perform constitutional responsibilities is one thing and empowering those who martyred innocent citizens and security forces and attacked mosques is quite another,” Tarar said.
No protests were reported following the suspension of the provincial government. Police detained several supporters of Khan’s party overnight and authorities deployed additional police and security forces to prevent unrest.
Shipping containers placed by police along key routes in Islamabad since last month to block potential rallies have disrupted traffic, forcing residents in the capital and neighboring Rawalpindi to take lengthy detours.
Imran Khan’s party rejects imposition of emergency
Khan’s spokesperson Zulfiquar Bukhari condemned the suspension of the provincial government, calling it a “disguised coup.” He said the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government was the only one with a genuine popular mandate following the February 2024 parliamentary elections, which Khan’s party says were rigged.
“Now that little bit of democracy is also gone,” Bukhari said in a statement.
Referring to recent talks between Khan’s party and the federal government, Bukhari accused officials of having no intention of reaching an agreement. He said government representatives had focused on counterterrorism, while Khan’s representatives had come to discuss the imprisoned leader’s basic rights.
Talks between Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, or PTI, and the federal government last week on postponing the march failed.
Besides Khan’s release, his party demanded his transfer to a hospital and permission for his family to visit him. Sharif’s government has said Khan is in good health and receives regular family visits but maintains that meetings with the imprisoned former leader cannot be used for political purposes.
PTI’s planned protest march on Islamabad
Chief Minister Afridi on Saturday urged supporters to prepare to march on Islamabad. Afridi launched the protest campaign last week, leading marches through several districts in the province. But the demonstrators dispersed after Afridi’s government was suspended, according to residents. They said life remained normal across the province, with no further protests against the measures.
Sharif’s government has been urging Afridi since last month to postpone the march, citing a surge in attacks by the Pakistani Taliban in the northwest. It has also accused Khan’s party of sympathizing with the militant group, also known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan.
Khan’s party said Afridi and his former Cabinet members were detained.
Political analyst Azeem Chaudhry said the emergency measures gave Gov. Faisal Karim Kundi the powers of the provincial chief executive, removing Khan’s party from power in the only province it governed. He said the provincial assembly and Afridi’s Cabinet were also suspended.
Pakistan has witnessed a surge in militant violence in recent years, much of it blamed on the TTP, a separate group but a close ally of the Afghan Taliban, who returned to power in neighboring Afghanistan in 2021. Islamabad has repeatedly accused Afghanistan’s Taliban government of providing sanctuary to TTP militants, an allegation Kabul denies.