Pakistan’s president declared a state of emergency and suspended a provincial government led by the party of jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan yesterday, which the federal government said had failed to tackle militancy in the province bordering Afghanistan.
The state of emergency and imposition of a new governor in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa sharply escalates a standoff between Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party and the government, and comes a week after PTI supporters gathered in the province intending to march on Islamabad to demand Khan’s release.
The party’s last large-scale protest two years ago ended in deadly clashes with security forces and Khan’s 2023 arrest sparked nationwide riots that threatened the military’s standing.
Hundreds of activists and three of Khan’s sisters have been detained ahead of the planned march, in what the PTI called one of the strongest crackdowns in years.
Pakistan’s constitution allows the government to take over from provincial authorities during an emergency, and Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar said a provincial governor would take charge in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which has suffered an increasing number of militant attacks in recent months.
Tarar told a news conference in Islamabad that the governor will initially be in place for six months, but could stay for as long as needed. The interior ministry said it would be deploying troops in the province.
The federal government and the military accuse PTI of failing to curb militants. The party rejects the charge and says Islamabad has not provided the funding and equipment it needs.
Restrictions have been placed on the movements of Sohail Afridi, who had previously been in charge of the province, one of his close aides told Reuters.
Khan’s aide and PTI spokesperson Zulfikar Bukhari called the government’s move ‘more of a coup disguised as emergency’, adding that it risks leading to further bloodshed and instability.
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