Agencies | Islamabad:
Pakistan’s federal government has declared a state of emergency in the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a stronghold of jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), citing security concerns and the fight against terrorism.
The emergency was invoked on Sunday under two constitutional provisions relating to security. President Asif Ali Zardari said he had approved recommendations submitted by the federal cabinet, which met earlier in the day under Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
A statement from Sharif’s office said the cabinet reviewed the security situation and noted what it described as the “provincial government’s deliberate disengagement from the fight against terrorism”.
Pakistan’s Constitution allows the federal government to assume some or all functions of a provincial administration during an emergency. However, the President’s Office did not clarify how the province would be governed under the new arrangement.
Following the announcement, PTI lawmaker Junaid Akbar said Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi and the party’s provincial president had been arrested. The arrests had not been independently confirmed in the information available.
The move comes as the PTI prepares to organise a march to Islamabad to demand Khan’s release. The former prime minister has been in jail for more than three years but continues to enjoy significant support across the country.
The march was initially scheduled for September 27 but was postponed to October 4 to allow negotiations between the government and PTI leadership. The federal government has, however, vowed not to allow the demonstration to enter the capital and has erected shipping-container barricades on major access routes to prevent protesters from reaching Islamabad.
PTI spokesperson Zulfikar Bukhari, quoted by Reuters, criticised the emergency declaration, warning that it would lead to “further bloodshed, instability and collateral damage”.
He said negotiations remained possible but argued that the government’s latest decision indicated it had never intended to pursue meaningful talks.
The emergency declaration marks a further escalation in tensions between the federal government and the PTI, with security concerns and the party’s demand for Khan’s release at the centre of the confrontation.
