Pakistan Imposes Emergency and Governor’s Rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Detains PTI Chief Minister

Pakistan’s federal government imposed a state of emergency and governor’s rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Sunday, suspending the provincial administration led by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan.

President Asif Ali Zardari signed the proclamation on the advice of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. The order invokes Articles 232 and 234 of the constitution. Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar said the provincial government could no longer function in accordance with the constitution and that the grounds were law and order and the fight against terrorism. Governor Faisal Karim Kundi, a member of the Pakistan Peoples Party, will administer the province with an advisory council of technocrats. The arrangement is initially set for six months.

Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry confirmed on Monday that Chief Minister Sohail Afridi and several cabinet members had been taken into preventive custody. Police sources told AFP that 278 PTI members had been detained since the emergency declaration. PTI officials said Afridi and provincial party president Junaid Akbar were arrested. Information Minister Attaullah Tarar described Afridi’s status as custody rather than formal arrest.

The federal cabinet blamed the provincial government for “deliberate disengagement from the fight against terrorism.” Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi warned protesters of legal action. The emergency covers 12 districts, including the former tribal areas along the Afghan border. The government authorised deployment of army troops in aid of civil power.

PTI leaders called the move a political coup. Spokesperson Zulfikar Bukhari said it would cause further bloodshed and instability. The party had planned a march from the province toward Islamabad to demand Khan’s release and medical access. Thousands of supporters had already gathered before the emergency was declared. Imran Khan’s three sisters and hundreds of other supporters were detained in the days before the order.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has seen a rise in attacks by militants linked to the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan. The federal government and the military have accused the PTI administration of failing to curb the groups. Negotiations between PTI and the federal government collapsed earlier in October over counterterrorism policy.

The province has a population of about 40 million and was the last major unit of government controlled by Khan’s party. The emergency transfers executive powers to the federally appointed governor. An Area Development Secretariat is to be established in the listed districts to restore order and oversee development.

No timeline has been given for the release of detained officials. Those without pending cases are expected to be freed, according to federal statements. The constitutional measures remain in force while security conditions are assessed. The episode marks the sharpest federal intervention against a PTI-led province since Khan’s imprisonment.