ISLAMABAD: The emergency proclamation issued under Article 232 applies to all of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, not just the 12 terror-stricken districts of the province, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar said on Tuesday.
Addressing a press conference alongside his cabinet colleague Attaullah Tarar, the law minister said that for those 12 districts, a special mechanism had been introduced.
“Under the chief executive, extra measures have been taken; a dedicated secretariat has been established which will be providing assistance to those districts,” he said.
At the outset of the press briefing, the law minister noted that the province in the recent past had witnessed a hike in terrorist incidents, noting a “195 per cent” rise, with 8,600 terrorist attacks recorded in 2024-2026 compared to 2,900 in 2020-2024.
Ministers blame PTI govt’s ‘non-serious attitude’ for its fate; say Centre, provinces can’t have separate counterterrorism policies
He emphasised that it was essential that counterterrorism efforts taken by federal and provincial agencies be “harmonised”, adding that such an approach was standard practice globally.
“All these arrangements are made to run the country in a way that people feel safe,” the law minister remarked, adding that the “non-serious” attitude of the PTI-led KP government “has now ceased to exist”.
He recalled that the PTI, allegedly using government resources, “launched an onslaught on the capital”. However, at the time, the imposition of governor’s rule and emergency did not come under discussion.
Describing the situation on the ground in the province, the law minister said: “The KP police were under attack, armed forces deployed in the province were under attack […] innocent people lost their lives.”
“You cannot shut your eyes after receiving such reports and seeing this rise in terrorist activity,” Azam added.
Recalling the events leading up to the federal government’s decision, the law minister said the government had held “constant engagement” with the provincial authorities.
“Unfortunately, their response was somewhat different. Maybe their politics were more important to them than having the national interest at heart,” he said.
The information minister claimed that the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had “welcomed” the federal government’s move to impose governor’s rule and emergency in the province, saying the measures had given them “hope”.
“Had the people of KP supported the pro-terrorist stance of the PTI government, you would have seen millions on the streets,” he said.
The information minister, during the presser, reiterated that the federal government did not have a political agenda against the PTI-led provincial government; instead, it was pursuing “a unified policy on counterterrorism”.
“You cannot have a government in the country that sympathises with terrorists, supports terrorism or has a policy that enables terrorists to carry out their operational actions,” he said.
He questioned how one country could have two separate counterterrorism policies.
“As the [law] minister explained, the framers of the constitution included these clauses (232 and 234) for a time like this,” citing a “complete breakdown” of law and order in KP.
Published in Dawn, October 14th, 2026