Pakistan imposes emergency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, suspends Imran Khan’s party-led government
Islamabad: Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari has declared a state of emergency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and suspended the provincial government led by jailed former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), days before its supporters were set to march on Islamabad demanding his release.
The decision was taken on the recommendation of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s Cabinet, the President’s Office said. Under the emergency measures, the province will be administered by Governor Faisal Karim Kundi, who represents the federal government.
The federal Cabinet had earlier accused the provincial government of “deliberate disengagement from the fight against terrorism” and recommended emergency rule. The announcement came amid heightened security in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Islamabad, with police detaining several PTI supporters overnight and deploying additional forces to prevent unrest.
No major protests were reported immediately after the suspension of the provincial government. Authorities have also placed shipping containers along key routes in Islamabad since last month to block potential rallies, causing traffic disruptions in the capital and neighbouring Rawalpindi.
Khan’s spokesperson, Zulfiquar Bukhari, condemned the move, describing it as a “disguised coup”. He claimed the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government was the only administration with a genuine popular mandate after the February 2024 parliamentary elections, which PTI alleges were rigged.
“Now that little bit of democracy is also gone,” Bukhari said in a statement.
He also accused the federal government of lacking any intention to reach an agreement with PTI. According to him, government representatives focused on counterterrorism during recent talks, while Khan’s representatives sought to discuss the former prime minister’s basic rights and conditions of detention.
Khan, Sharif’s principal political rival, has been in prison since 2023 after being convicted in corruption-related cases and other charges. He and his party maintain that the cases are politically motivated. Despite his imprisonment, Khan continues to command significant support and remains central to Pakistan’s political turmoil.
PTI and the federal government held talks last week to postpone the planned march, but the negotiations ended without a breakthrough. Party chairman Gohar Khan had said the discussions remained deadlocked after two rounds.
Besides Khan’s release, PTI has demanded his transfer to a hospital and permission for his family to meet him. The government has said Khan is in good health and receives regular family visits, but maintains that meetings with him cannot be used for political purposes.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi had on Saturday urged party supporters to prepare for the march on Islamabad. He launched the protest campaign last week, leading marches through several districts of the province.
Sharif’s government had been pressing Afridi to call off the march, citing a rise in attacks by the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in the northwest. It has also accused PTI of sympathising with the militant group, an allegation the party denies.
PTI said Afridi and members of his former Cabinet had been detained following the emergency decision. Political analyst Azeem Chaudhry said the measures effectively transferred the powers of the provincial chief executive to Governor Kundi, removing PTI from office in the only province it governed. The provincial assembly and Afridi’s Cabinet have also been suspended.
Pakistan has seen a rise in militant violence in recent years, much of it attributed to the TTP, a close ally of the Afghan Taliban. Islamabad has repeatedly accused Afghanistan’s Taliban administration of providing sanctuary to TTP militants, an allegation Kabul denies.