Imran Khan’s party moves Peshawar HC against emergency, governor’s rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Pakistan's incarcerated former prime minister Imran Khan's party on Monday filed an amended petition in the Peshawar High Court, challenging the imposition of emergency and governor's rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on constitutional grounds.

The amended petition, filed by party chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan, argued that declaring an emergency without a provincial assembly resolution violated constitutional requirements.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was the only province where Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) was in power.

The amended petition was filed days after both houses of Pakistan's Parliament approved resolutions endorsing the emergency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The National Assembly and the Senate passed the resolutions on October 14 amid strong opposition from PTI lawmakers, who criticised the move and staged a walkout.

President Asif Ali Zardari on October 11 proclaimed an emergency under Article 232(1) and imposed governor's rule under Article 234(1) of the Constitution, with the federal government accusing the PTI-led provincial administration of failing to effectively tackle rising militancy.

The PTI chairman maintained that the first proviso to Article 232(1) of the Constitution requires a resolution from the provincial assembly to impose an emergency in a province.

According to the latest petition, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly had not passed any resolution in favour of imposing an emergency, rendering the declaration constitutionally questionable.

Barrister Khan also urged the court to declare the imposition of emergency without the provincial assembly's resolution unconstitutional.

The petition further argued that subsequent approval by the National Assembly, Senate or a joint sitting of Parliament could not substitute for the constitutionally required resolution of the provincial assembly.

It maintained that the constitutional procedure and conditions prescribed for imposing an emergency must be strictly followed and asked the High Court to examine the legality of the declaration.

PTI chairman had earlier moved the Peshawar High Court challenging the emergency and sought to reinstate former chief minister Sohail Afridi and his cabinet.

The earlier petition had also challenged the formation of an Advisory Council and the deployment of the armed forces in the province.

The federal government has defended the move, citing the security situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which has witnessed a surge in militant attacks in recent months.