Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar on Wednesday explained before the National Assembly that emergency was imposed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as the security situation there was becoming a threat to “national security”.
The question hour session was suspended due to discussions on the imposition of emergency in KP. Unexpectedly, opposition members are sitting calmly and staging no protest.
Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Tariq Fazal Chaudhry tabled the motion regarding the proclamation of emergency, while the law minister opened the discussion.
Addressing the house, Tarar noted that after the proclamation of emergency was issued, the Constitution’s Article 232 required that both houses of the parliament approve the measure.
Tarar recalled that the federal cabinet examined “material” regarding terrorism in the province during its Oct 11 meeting and then advised Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to recommend the imposition of emergency.
He recalled that some people compared the measure to the emergency imposed by former dictator Gen Pervez Musharraf on Oct 12, 1999.
The minister particularly noted “internal disturbances” and cross-border infiltrations. He contended that the situation since Oct 15, 2025, when Sohail Afridi’s government came into power in KP, was “turning into a threat to national security to an alarming extent”.
He went on to highlight that there was a rise in terrorism in KP, especially after 2021, due to the approach of the provincial government.
“Perhaps there might be foreign, diplomatic and political reasons behind it, which got inflamed due to a political party’s point of view.”
Tarar stated that 2,911 incidents of terrorism took place between 2021 and 2024 in KP, but they surged to 3,787 incidents between Oct 15, 2025 and Oct 9, 2026.
More to follow